Shadow Alliance
by top
Summary: Naruto is called home early from his training. The conflict with Sound is growing and as they desperately try to replace their losses a message from a former ally comes to the village and might be their salvation but, they've betrayed them before. Sequel
1. Loose Ends

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. It's Kishimoto's.

* * *

Final analysis regarding the war with An no Kuni aka The Uprising

For: Hokage Village Council Members

Classification: Eyes Only

Summary: The country An no Kuni attempted to outfit an army with weapons that were banned by mutual consent from all nations. This program was funded by the treasury of the country along with numerous sympathetic merchants and government officials throughout the continent. They were also aided by a sect of warrior monks that had been at war with Kirigakure since its founding. The monks provided both personnel and access to an extensive intelligence network that included ninjas from various villages.

The secrecy surrounding this program was so complete that it was not until a joint team of Konohagakure led by Kakashi Hatake and a team of Kumogakure ninjas discovered a small manufacturing facility by accident. Although the facility was destroyed there was no evidence pointing to any government or organization at the time. On the Hokage orders what little information we had was disseminated to all Allied villages.

At this point we learned of another security breach and intelligence failure. The village of Moyagakure had successfully managed to steal the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan. Fortunately, the eight-year-old child named Kado was moved to Konohagakure with no significant problems.

The discovery of one of their manufacturing facility seemed to have accelerated their plans. The simultaneous attacks on Moyagakure and Kirigakure were a complete surprise. Moyagakure was completely destroyed and Kirigakure was heavily damaged. Fortunately these attacks left enough evidence to point directly to An no Kuni. An unprecedented alliance of all hidden villages minus Otogakure descended on the country and destroyed everything of military value.

Conclusions: Our intelligence gathering ability must be reevaluated. Konohagakure cannot afford such security breaches again. Furthermore we must assume that other hidden villages now have at least a rough idea of our diminished strength. Fortunately with Kirigakure concentrating on rebuilding and Kumogakure loss of their Jinchuriki (Yugito Nii) neither are prepared for all out war.

Partial list of casualties

Inoichi Yamanaka: killed on a recon mission. He was one of two familiar with the Yamanaka family Jutsu.

Yamato: killed on a failed assassination mission. He was the last Mokuton user in the village.

Hinata Hyuga: killed in the final assault. She was the presumed heiress to the Hyuga clan posthumously promoted to Chunin.

Dusk slowly descended over the forest of the Fire country. As the shadows stretched across the land many animals retreated to their dens while others emerge to take part in their nocturnal activities. It was quiet and peaceful. That was until Naruto Uzumaki came barreling through the woods causing a nearby flock of birds to take flight squawking in protest. Although he had spent the last eighteen months studying under Jiraiya his stealth skills hadn't improved much.

His orders which had been delivered by a falcon from Konoha had only given him a time and location with no other details. Considering he had been out of the country he was making good time. Bounding off the next branch he spared a moment to wonder about the last line of his orders. Return to Konoha training canceled. Under different circumstances that order would have annoyed him but, Konoha was in trouble. He knew that. They were still recovering their strength from all the recent losses.

The trouble had started with the Sand and Sound invasion. Not long after that there had been that trouble with the Land of Red Beans which had caused problems for just about every one of the hidden villages. During the brief conflict Konoha had lost a lot of ninjas but, not as many as other villages. After the final battle he had watched as dozens of names had been added to the Memorial Monument, including the name of one of his former classmates. Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice that he had run out of trees until he almost hit the ground. Turning his fall into more of a tumble he ended up in an ungraceful heap staring up at the sky.

"You're late Naruto," a voice called out from his right.

Climbing to his feet he glanced over to see Ino, she was leaning against a tree, her arms crossed. The hilt of a wakizashi peeked over her shoulder. Rumor had it that she picked it off a dead samurai but, Sakura had once told him that she used it as an excuse to spend time with a certain raven haired teenager. "I'm not late the sun hasn't set," he shouted back.

"You were supposed to be here before it started to set."

"No."

"Quiet, this mission is already troublesome enough without you to arguing. Now come over here," Shikamaru said without looking up from a diagram in his lap.

Naruto shut up as he walked over to join the other two. He had kind of hoped that at least one member of Team Seven would be on this mission with him. "So, what's this mission anyway?"

"We are breaking into a house and interrogating someone." Shikamaru said finally looking up from his diagram. "The target name is Kanaye; he is a merchant originally from the Water country." Shikamaru waited for a reaction but, Naruto just stared back at him.

Shikamaru sighed, "He was part of the intelligence network that those monks set up. We believe this because he just tried to sell Konoha's evacuation plan to another hidden village. They in turn informed us because they don't want to see a repeat of the Land of Red Beans incident. So, we're going to pay this merchant a visit, ask him some questions and then leave."

"Alive?" Naruto asked. He had never actually been on an assassination mission before but, like everybody else he wouldn't mind taking out those responsible for all those deaths.

"That was actually emphasized," Ino answered disappointed. "We haven't had much luck finding these guys. So, if this guy ends up dead after our visit will know somebody is still pulling the strings. If he isn't killed he'll still be neutralized and we might scare somebody else who is under observation into moving."

"Right but, our intelligence was bad. You see Kanaye has a small summer villa out here in these woods. We were told he could have up to fifty samurai guards protecting him which is why you're here instead of Chouji but, we scoped the place out before you arrived. I doubt he has more than ten and the ones we saw looked like thugs with swords."

"So, were just going to smash and grab then." Naruto asked eager to start the mission.

"No, this is a stealth mission and there can be absolutely no killing," Shikamaru answered sharply. "There is a small chance that one of his guards is there to silence him if he's about to fall into our hands. It doesn't matter what happens after we talked to him but, he cannot die before then."

"What do you want me to do then?"

"You're our backup, if anything goes wrong create as many clones as you can and we will escape in the confusion." Naruto nodded as Shikamaru handed him an earpiece. "We'll move in after midnight but, I want to gather information about their night patrol before we move in. Be careful we can't be seen."

They headed out as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Passing among the trees as wraiths insubstantial and silent there pace was slow and steady. By the time Naruto could barely make out a wall Shikamaru gestured for him to go to the right while Ino headed to the left. There was a crackle of static in his ear. "Try climbing a tree to see over the wall but, make sure you are not silhouette against the moonlight. Report back here in an hour."

"Okay," Naruto answered. He tried to remember if Shikamaru had been this tense on their last mission together but, the two didn't really compare. Scanning the woods he found a particularly large maple tree that looked pretty good for spying. Scrambling most of the way up the tree with the use of chakra he peered through the branches at the house.

The house wasn't what he had expected from a rich merchant. It wasn't small but, it wasn't large either. The house was completely dark and he concentrated on the guards positions. They weren't using lights so he could only make out shadowy figures moving about. After about ten 

minutes he was bored and was more than happy when he had to go back and report. "I saw two guards on patrol around the house on opposite sides of each other. It takes them about two minutes to make a full round," Naruto blurted out as soon as the three were together again.

"There's also another guard by the inside of the gate and," Ino hesitated before adding. "And I keep hearing this sound but, it's intermittent. It sounds like wood hitting against wood."

Shikamaru frowned when he heard Ino's report. "I think they're called clappers. They're simply two wooden blocks that a guard bangs together while he's on a patrol. If he stops then they will know something's wrong. These guys are a lot better than the day shift."

"At least they don't have guard dogs," Naruto added quietly. A few months ago he had a run-in with a guard dog and if it wasn't for Kyuubi's healing ability he would have an embarrassing scar.

Shikamaru grunted in acknowledgment as he drew on his diagram. "All right here's what we're going to do," shifting the paper so that all three of them could see it in the moonlight. He placed three X's on the diagram. One was at the front gate while the other two were on opposite sides of the house. "There's a small gap in their security here. As soon as this one guard turns the corner there'll be a few seconds until his counterpart will be able to see the backyard. The problem is there's a small rock garden back there so we'll have to hop from stone to stone so we don't disturb the sand.

"Ino you will go first. You have to hide under this veranda before picking the lock and going inside. Naruto will go next followed by me. I'm sure there will be at least one guard inside so proceed cautiously. Once were inside Ino and I will do the actual interrogation while you stand guard. Got it," he looked up as they both nodded.

"Naruto go," Shikamaru's voice crackled over the radio. With a burst of speed he cleared the small gap between the wall and the woods. With a chakra assisted jump he was on top of the wall and looking down at a sea of sand. Rocks stuck out in a seemingly random pattern, the waves of sand seemingly emanating from them. He didn't understand why so many people liked these things. Jiraiya had tried to have him meditate in front of them a few times but, that had never been his strength and he generally nodded off instead.

This time he carefully hopped from stone to stone before landing on the grass and rushing towards the open door. Ino shut the door behind him as the clapping sound of one of the guards rounded the corner. They crouched in what Naruto recognized as a kitchen. The sound of the guard approach grew progressively louder and he held his breath until it started to fade again.

"Alright I'm coming," Shikamaru said over the radio.

A minute later all three were crammed into the kitchen and it took a minute to straighten themselves out. They proceeded crouched through the house. Shikamaru took the lead while Ino followed him and he took up the rear. Their progress was excruciatingly slow in Naruto's opinion. Shikamaru spent a long time listening at each closed doors they pass by and before he would let them go around a corner he would pull out a small dentist mirror to peer around the corner.

As irritating as this slow pace was it paid off in the end. Shikamaru gestured for a halt followed by another hand signal that he didn't recognize but, Ino seem to. She turned to him and mouthed "catch me".

Before Naruto understood what was going on Shikamaru peeped around the corner as his shadow seemingly extended to catch the guard, freezing him in place. Ino was a second behind him performing her Mind Body Switch Technique. She went limp and he barely had time to catch her before she hit the ground. The guard's body which was no longer under his control walked towards them in an oddly feminine manner. His placid face turned murderous as Naruto realized where one of his hands had caught Ino's body.

Before she could do anything though, Shikamaru stepped between the two of them in an uncommon show of bravery. That diffused the situation for now and the Ino controlled guard was quickly bound and gagged. With only one door being guarded in the entire house it was a no-brainer to conclude that Kanaye had to be behind it. There problem was now that they had dispatched the guard someone had to take his place. Since Naruto was the only one not needed for the interrogation the task fell to him.

Performing a Henge he was able to make a passable impersonation of the guard. As it turned out Kanaye was a heavy sleeper. They were able to drag the bound guard into his bedroom without any trouble. Waking him up quietly proved to be the hardest part of the mission. Naruto retreated to his post and from then on all he could hear through the door was an occasional muffled word. After several minutes he heard rummaging around from within the room. "Naruto," Shikamaru said over the radio. "We're going to need your help carrying some of this stuff out of here."

As Naruto turned to open the door to the bedroom the shoji door from across the hall slid open to reveal a bleary-eyed guard. The guard was apparently awake enough to recognize that something was wrong, "Intruders!"

Naruto brought his fist in the guard's throat cutting him off. Unfortunately, the room he had just emerged from seemed to be the barracks for the rest of the guards.

Summoning a half dozen clones Naruto sent them into the room to cause havoc. Retreating into the bedroom he closed the door behind him and summoned another two clones to hold it tightly shut. Getting his first clear glimpse into the room he saw Ino still holding a kenai to Kanaye's 

throat while Shikamaru had pulled up several floor boards and was busily shoving scrolls into every pocket of his vast.

"Naruto, grab some of these and then make a hole for us," Shikamaru nodded to the wooden wall opposite of him.

As the guards broke down the door the wall exploded outwards and three figures sprinted for the safety of the woods. They stopped after about a mile to secure the scrolls and Naruto couldn't contain his curiosity, "What did you find out?"

Shikamaru was silent for a long moment before he muttered, "Nothing. He hasn't been in contact with anyone since the siege at the castle. He was just trying to make a little money by selling some of our secrets. These scrolls are everything he has."

Despite the successful mission their moods became somber. Like just about every other ninja they had lost people they had known because of this network of spies that reached across the whole continent. Each of them in their own way had hoped for something more out of this mission.


	2. Reunited

Sakura was uncomfortable being in the hospital, which was odd considering her chosen specialty and who she apprenticed under. It wasn't the Konoha hospital itself that she found unpleasant although the smell of disinfectant tended to linger. It was mostly her fellow Medical-nin that made her uncomfortable. There were many in the medical core that did not appreciate the seemingly relative ease and swiftness that had propelled her to be not only one of the top medics but the youngest to obtain that lofty title in years.

If they knew how brutal Lady Tsunade's training was they wouldn't covet her ability so much. Despite all the hard work and general isolation from others in the medical corps she didn't regret studying under the Fifth. It allowed her opportunities that she wouldn't have a chance at otherwise. Opportunities like studying an emerging kekkei genkai. Opening the examining room door she smiled and said, "Hello Ranmaru how are you feeling today?"

"Fine," the lavender haired boy answered without looking away from the window.

She took a mental note of that but, decided not to remind him that it was polite to make eye contact while talking to somebody. He had come a long way since she and Naruto had rescued him almost two years ago. Not that anyone could blame him for his occasional social lapses. From what he had told her about his so-called childhood horrified her.

Her mind was still incapable of understanding how an entire village could hate a child for something that he did not have any control over. Let alone let him starve to death and that is how Ranmaru's life would've ended if he had not been saved by a man who had been insane. Still, it hadn't been all bad for him. Raiga had cared for Ranmaru in his own way and he had learned a lot from him. The Hitai-ate that Ranmaru wore was proof of that. Even in Konoha's weaken state; it wasn't easy to become an early graduate.

"How's your team doing?" She asked as she started to take his vitals.

"I think Sensei is starting to like us. When she throws kenai at us now, she uses the blunted end. Right now we're on our own though. She said she had to go kill someone. Hoshiko kind of took over." He paused and added in a whisper, "I think she's trying to kill us."

Sakura actually paused in her work before realizing that Ranmaru actually made a joke. If it had been about anyone but Hoshiko, she would've recognized it immediately. She knew the girl sort of. Hoshiko wasn't crazy just driven to become strong sort of like Sasuke. Actually the two of them had more in common than that, they were both survivors. Only in her case her entire village of Kemurigakure had been destroyed in the samurai uprising.

Pushing that thought aside she continued, "How do your legs feel?"

"They're fine, I'm eating the curry and my eyes are fine. Can I go now?"

Ranmaru had answered the rest of her questions. She had to smile these monthly visits were pretty predictable which was why she normally didn't ask him to come to the hospital unless she wanted blood. "One more thing can you look through the floor and tell me what you see?"

He glanced down and for a moment his eyes glowed red. "There is a bunch of filing cabinets and some tables."

"Can you see it clearly?"

"Yeah," he said bored with the simple task.

"All right you can get out of here."

Hopping off the examining table Ranmaru was out the door before pausing and turned back to her. "Hey, Sakura would you like to come over for dinner sometime? I will tone down the curry for you."

"Sure," she said already knowing that his idea of mild would still make the meal hard to stomach. The moment that Ranmaru let the door close behind him, she let her false smile fall. The room that Ranmaru had so easily peered into was a secured area that was supposed to be difficult for a Hyuga to penetrate. The room contained numerous secret medical documents but, that wasn't the important thing. In a hidden village it was important to be able to keep secrets. After a moment she decided to report this to the Hokage immediately.

* * *

Naruto glanced over at his temporary team leader as they walked down the hall to the Hokage's office. "Shikamaru are you suppose to be reading those?" He asked as Shikamaru thumbed through another scroll.

"Well our orders didn't say I couldn't and I would just request access to them later. So, I'm just saving the Hokage some paperwork."

Ino leaned over to Naruto conspiratorially and said, "Shikamaru is convinced that they're still spies in the village because of the way the samurai fought their last battle and unless you want an hour-long lecture drop it."

Ino smiled as she said this and Naruto wondered if he had misjudged her. At the Academy he hadn't liked her because Sakura hadn't liked her but, she wasn't so bad. He still wished that Sakura was with him though.

The Hokage's door was slightly ajar and he pushed it open without knocking. "Granny where back," his words caught in his throat as he saw that Sakura was in the room with the Hokage.

"I'm supposed to give the report," Shikamaru said coming in and then pausing.

"We're done," Tsunade gestured for them to come in. "How did it go?"

"It was partially successful. We were able to infiltrate and interrogate but, he didn't know much. The information was given to him via a beggar and he in turn passed it on to the daimyo of the Land of Red Beans through shipment of merchandise to his castle. It's a dead-end but, he did have some scrolls though." Shikamaru dumped several scrolls onto the desk followed by Naruto and Ino.

Tsunade looked at the scrolls in disgust. They were almost lost in the sea of papers on her desk, "What's in them?"

"It's mostly financial information. About the only thing of real consequence was the evacuation plan and he said he sold it to Sound village and had approached Lightening about purchasing it not that long ago. There's nothing there that a good place civilian couldn't obtain."

She sighed and said, "All right submit your written report by tomorrow and throw it on the pile over there." She said pointing to a pile of papers that was already dangerously high. "Dismissed. Oh, Naruto I'm sorry that we had to cut your training trip short but, it couldn't be helped."

"No big deal, besides it nice to be home again," he glanced over at Sakura who had stayed for Shikamaru's report.

"Yes well, I want team Seven to report for a mission tomorrow. Be there by noon but, I'll tell Kakashi to be there by eleven that way he won't be too late."

Naruto smiled at the thought of his perpetually late Sensei being on time for once before turning to his longtime crush. "Hey, Sakura do you want to go to Ichiraku?"

"Sure but, let's talk for a while."

Naruto blinked for a second as her words slowly registered. One of his dreams had just come true and his first instinct was to check to see if this was a Genjutsu but, if it was he really didn't want to get out of it. Instead he followed her to the roof before the silence got to him and he asked the first question that came to his mind. "So what were you two talking about before we came in?"

"It was about Ranmaru."

"Is something wrong with him?" He said remembering how sickly Ranmaru had been when they had first met before his sudden recovery.

"No, it's nothing like that. I just found out something new about his kekkei genkai and I kind of overreacted. Just remember were not supposed to talk about his kekkei genkai. OK."

Naruto felt himself relax. He liked Ranmaru even if the kid was a bit strange at times. "Oh, so you're finding stuff out about him?"

"Not really," Sakura said leaning against the railing. "A kekkei genkai as powerful as his shouldn't just appear but, as hard as I search I can't find anything that could be its precursor. So, either it's unique to him and he won't be able to pass it on or the other option is that anyone who has seen it in the past didn't live to tell about it and that's even more unlikely. Of course, he's originally from The Land of Water and there's a lot we don't know about that country."

Naruto didn't understand what the big deal was. Ranmaru didn't seem to care all that much about his kekkei genkai, he thought of it as just a part of him. Of course he also didn't understand why there had to be so much secrecy either. It had something to do with the Hyuga and clan politics but, beyond that he was lost.

The silence stretched between them until Sakura shattered it with another odd comment. "I'm glad you're back. It may not look like it but, were in trouble." She turned her head towards him. "Some say were heading for another great war and others say it would have started if the Mist hadn't been so badly hurt. Sound can't defeat us right now but, they keep hitting us and little by little they're wearing us down."

Naruto didn't know what to say or if he should say anything. He had known that the situation hadn't been great but, he didn't think it had been that bad. He started to feel guilty for all those months he had been off training instead of being here. So he asked the first question that came to his mind trying to change the subject. "How did you do in the Chunin Exams?" He had missed his two teammates on his last visit home because they were off taking the exam.

"I had to drop out after the second stage. Tsunade said she couldn't afford to lose me for a month but, the next exam will be held in Konoha so I'm sure we will pass next time." She smiled at the thought.

"Yeah, it will be great. Just like the old days only we will kick ass this time. The three of us will be"

"Actually," Sakura interrupted. "Sasuke stayed behind and passed. He is a chunin now. He had to can you imagine him and Kado being the same rank?"

Naruto tuned out as a thought occurred to him. "So, then it will just be the two of us taking the exam together?" He didn't notice his grin growing a little.

Unfortunately, for Naruto Sakura did notice. "Pervert," she shouted bringing her fist down on his head.

Shaking his head clear he shouted at Sakura retreating back, "What about lunch?"

She paused and turned, "Fine, meet us there in one hour but, you're paying for the three of us."

Naruto sighed he didn't think that Sasuke would be coming with them but, it would be nice to see him. That was until he remembered that Sasuke now outranked him. Well it didn't matter he could still kick his ass. With that thought and not wanting to run into Sakura until she calmed down he took an alternative route to the bottom of the building. He needed to pick up Gama-Chan from his apartment before meeting his teammates. One of the first things he had learned while studying under Jiraiya was having a wallet on you was just an excuse to get mugged.

Walking down the street lost in his thoughts he almost collided with an unexpected obstacle. Jumping backwards he looked up to see Konohamaru dangling upside down from a tree. Glancing up into the tree he saw that he was using chakra to hang there. "You mastered it," he commented trying not to sound pleased.

Konohamaru gave a thumbs-up which was a thumbs down from Naruto's point of view, as he said, "We all did." Dropping from the tree his Hitai-ate fell over his eyes. "So how long are you going to be around this time?"

"Permanently," he said grinning down at his younger friend.

"Really, so you can show me that Jutsu now?" Konohamaru asked hopefully.

Naruto froze. When Konohamaru had been younger he had promised that he would teach him the Rasengan when he became a genin but, now he wasn't so sure if he should. It was A-rank after all. "Um sure but, not right now," he winced in preparation for the coming rant.

"I understand, everyone's busy," Konohamaru said looking away managing not to look too disappointed.

Okay that was not what he was expecting from Konohamaru. There was no way he could have changed that much in four months. "Busy? Any good missions?" Naruto asked trying to get over the awkward moment.

Konohamaru sighed, "Ebisu still has us doing boring stuff. There's so many good missions coming in but, he won't even let us leave the village yet. At least Kado's team got to see some action even if they were just ambushed."

Naruto smiled he could remember feeling the same way. They stopped before he started climbing the stairs to his apartment. "You'll start to get some good ones and then you can tell me about them." He paused for a minute, "Maybe we can train together later," he added feeling guilty.

"Yeah, I'll kick your shadow clone butts anytime." They laughed and Konohamaru suddenly became serious. "Hey, Naruto thanks for everything."

"Forget it. See you later." he called over his shoulder as he climbed the stairs. He really hadn't done much for Konohamaru and the rest. During his training Jiraiya and he had to separate 

occasionally. It was never for long but, he always had to wait for Jiraiya back in the village. When he had nothing else to do he had hung out with Konohamaru and the rest. Sometimes they just played and sometimes he would summon shadow clones and let them use them as target practice or sparring partners. The only thing he ever really showed them was the tree walking exercise and that was before they had graduated.

Opening his apartment door for the first time in months he was prepared for the dust. Going to the first floor board under his bed he lifted it up. It was a secret hiding hole he had discovered his first week in the apartment. He kept his few precious objects here. Picking up the frog wallet he said to it, "Gama-Chan I love you when you're so nice and fat."

It was then he noticed that his wallet felt slightly different. It was fat just like he left it but, the paper inside felt too stiff. Opening it he noticed that all of his money had been replaced with paper of similar size. Taking out one of the papers he read the message on it, "I owe Konohamaru one Jutsu."

* * *

Otonashi a Chunin from Kumogakure and currently disguised as a civilian gazed at the gates of Konoha from a nearby hill top. He briefly wondered if his sensei stood at this very spot on his last mission. That thought brought no comfort like his sensei mission before him the hardest part of his mission was just about to begin.

His mission was to deliver a package to the Hokage in person along with a message. It wouldn't be so hard if their villages were on better terms or even if he was a bit older. Ordinarily, he wouldn't be trusted with such an important mission but, there wasn't anything ordinary about this mission.

He wasn't sure but, he suspected that the Raikage was if not outright breaking the law then at least infringing on several. That would bother Otonashi more if he didn't agree with the Raikage's plan and not to mention had that whole treason thing hanging over his head. A smile crossed his face as he remembered how that came about.

It was all Naruto Uzumaki fault. They had met by accident. His sensei had sort of forced Naruto's team into helping them complete a mission. By the end of that mission he had a strong suspicion that Naruto was a Jinchuriki. He should've passed this information along even if it was just a suspicion but, if he had done that Naruto would have been assassinated and he had grown to like him during their brief encounter.

If that had been the last of it he could've overlooked it and no one would blame him after all he had just been a genin with little potential. If they hadn't met again during the siege everything would've been fine but, they had and during the ensuing battle he could no longer deny that 

Naruto was a Jinchuriki. Caught between loyalty to his hidden village and to his friend, he had chosen friendship.

Until a few weeks ago he had managed not to think about it. Throwing himself into his training and studies he managed to gain a small amount of notoriety for himself. Then he had been summoned to meet the Raikage. Unlike other Kage he cloistered himself beneath the tower and was rarely seen. One look at the man showed why, he was dying.

Otonashi figured that his treason by omission had been discovered and it sort of had. As it turns out Naruto status was known but, kept a secret in the village. The Raikage feared that Naruto's assassination might start another war with Konoha and that was something that the Raikage wanted to avoid. In fact he worried that another great war was just on the horizon and he wanted to avoid it. In order to avoid one war they would have to start another smaller war.

The irony of that thought made him smile. Approaching the open gates he was surprised at how easy it appeared to be to enter the village. With all the trouble they've been having with Sound ninjas he figured the gates would be closed.

The moment he stepped foot into the village a voice called out, "Are you here to request a mission?"

Okay maybe it wasn't so easy Otonashi thought. "Yes, it's sort of a big one." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his Hitai-ate enough so that his village symbol could be seen. "Any chance we can do this quietly?"

The man's demeanor immediately changed from helpful guide to suspicious guard, "Wait right here." He retreated and his friend watched him suspiciously from the table. A moment later the first man came back and escorted him to the tower.

Upon entering the building he was checked for concealed weapons and to nobody's surprise they found several. They were taken away along with the package over his objections. Then he was placed in a windowless room. It wasn't a cell but, clearly they were observing him. Probably trying to see if he was acting like he was on a suicide mission, how would somebody on a suicide mission act anyway? He wondered.

After he finished counting the ceiling tiles for the one hundred and ninety seventh time the door finally opened to reveal two ANBU. Neither of them spoke but, from the way they stood they wanted him to follow them. He thought about making a wisecrack but, he doubted either of them had a sense of humor. Flanking him on either side as they led him through several quarters before leading into another room where there were two women.

One looked like the photo of the Hokage he had been shown while the other woman held a pig in her arms. The scrolls that had been in the package were spread open across the desk. Well at least she got them he thought.

"Care to explain why you walked into our village with an invasion plan?" The Hokage spoke with a slight smile which made her all the more threatening.

Otonashi suddenly felt the need for water as he spoke. "They're a gift." She raised one eyebrow as his prepared speech slipped through his fingers like so much sand. "They're not really invasion plans Sound is just preparing for a large-scale raid on your village."

She waited for more but, he suddenly had no idea what to say next. "If this is true why are you giving them to us? Last time I checked Otogakure and Kumogakure were allies."

"Otogakure gained no favor by withholding support during the samurai uprising," he began hesitantly. "And as you know they're not really a proper hidden village. They have small bases throughout the entire Land of Rice Fields and more recently in a neighboring country as well. If things continue the way they are we might be cut off from the continent and that is not acceptable. We are offering you a secret alliance for the purpose of destroying Otogakure once and for all."

He mentally kicked himself he was pretty sure that was supposed to go at the end of his speech. Still, she should be able to figure it out. His country was on a peninsula which made it easy to defend but, there was always a threat that they could be cut off from the continent and as a result their missions.

The Hokage leaned forward and looked at one of the scrolls. "So, how did you obtain these then?"

"We've been picking up sound ninjas for a while trying to figure out what their up to. One of them said that they were preparing for something big so we targeted one of his lieutenants and after a lengthy interrogation we were able to obtain these plans. Regrettably he is now with his ancestors."

Suddenly she slammed her hand on to the desk and he jumped as there was an audible crack. "If the Raikage is serious about this then why did he send a boy here with this information?"

He felt his face turn red as he blurted out. "There are those in the village that would be against this course of action the Raikage has chosen not to inform them. Of those he trusts I'm one of the few that can disappear for an extended period without anyone taking note. If you doubt I can be trusted asked Naruto Uzumaki."


	3. Dangers and Opportunities

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and took in the view of Konoha from her office and considered the problem in front of her. For a moment she contemplated having a drink but, decided against it. She had cleared the room only a minute ago so she could think about the problem in peace and alcohol wouldn't help.

The documents that had been delivered by Otonashi were spread across her desk. If they were legitimate she could turn this into an advantage and quite possibly deliver a decisive blow to Otogakure. However, if they weren't legitimate then building a strategy around them might lead to a disaster. Granted her former teammate would not be participating in the attack itself but, his lieutenants and second in command would be.

In favor of the documents legitimacy was the timing of the attack. It would take place during the Senjin festival which was a large but local event only three days away. Furthermore the plan as it was laid out seemed to depend on the fact that the majority of the population of Konoha would be in one place as the attack began. However, the strongest evidence for these documents legitimacy was Otogakure gained nothing by alerting them of any potential attack.

As it was laid out now the main force would attack the southern gate head-on but, they were only meant to be a diversion. A secondary and smaller force was meant to take up positions on top of the Hokage Monument cutting off any retreat to the shelters. A third and the smallest force would come in from the east using the trees as cover. Their exact target was unclear but, the hospital, ANBU headquarters along with several specialized training fields could be at their mercy.

If this plan was followed she could position a large force at the southern gate while having ANBU units intercept the ones that were meant to take the Hokage Monument. The third force could be destroyed by the members of the Aburame clan with some Hyuga as backup. Not to raise any suspicions though they would have to let the first group penetrate into the village a little. Of course if this plan was a fake she could be placing her forces in the wrong places.

Still, the more she looked at these plans the more they appeared to be legitimate. That didn't necessarily mean she trusted Kumogakure no sato. She could easily imagine her former teammate and the Raikage agreeing to set Konoha up. Orochimaru would have no qualms about sacrificing dozens of his own men if he could draw Konoha into a decisive battle. The fact that Kumo was apparently offering limited forces to aid in any follow up attack wasn't exactly comforting either.

Pulling Naruto in for a talk only had managed to make Otonashi seem even more suspicious. If what Naruto had told her about Otonashi was true his selections as a messenger made perfect sense. If this was all a trap then sending Otonashi who had technically committed treason as a sacrificial lamb was no big deal. His loss would be no loss. Sending Naruto to talk to Otonashi would accomplish little but, she had.

Still there was one more thing that made her think that this offer was legitimate. The Orochimaru she had known had never favored complex plans. Yes, he always had a fallback strategy but, that was generally to save his own neck. If she was to compare him to a snake he would be a venomous one striking with a quick deadly blow more than a constrictor who would squeeze the life out of its prey. The Sand Sound invasion which had been his last major effort to destroy Konoha had been fairly straightforward.

Of course she had to remember that his strategy had changed in the last year or so. Now his forces attacked hers whenever they met. Konoha hadn't lost many ninjas to this new strategy but, they weren't exactly in a situation where they could afford to lose any. Not to mention the trouble it caused with escort and C ranked missions. After all nobody wanted to hire bodyguards who would be attacked themselves and Genin couldn't be sent out without their Sensei or doubling of their teams.

She briefly wondered where these forces were coming from that seemed almost inexhaustible. Even if Orochimaru had managed to recruit every half trained washout wanabe ninja on the continent there should be a finite supply of them. From the limited intelligence she had managed to gain on his lieutenants none of them seemed particularly tactically minded. Between that fact and the change in strategy she almost wondered if someone else was calling the shots in Otogakure.

There was a knock at the door, "go away." She answered without looking away from the view. The door opened and Tsunade assumed that it was either something very important or someone with a death wish. Swiveling in her chair she faced the intruder.

"It turns out we have a file on Naruto's friend." Shizune said holding up a folder. "It might be important." She added dropping the folder onto her desk.

"Summarize it."

"He's training to be a Medical-nin but, he specializing in poisons particularly neurotoxins."

That was interesting Tsunade thought. While poisons were not that uncommon of a weapon neurotoxins were. The trouble with them was if you were accidentally exposed to them you tended to be dead before you even realized it. Of the five neurotoxins users she had known three had fallen to their own concoctions.

That was why the Fourth Hokage had to ban the use of them in Konoha. They were simply too dangerous. Ironically the thing that made them so deadly made them so tempting to use. The speed at which they killed meant that a low-level ninja could take out a high-level ninja with little trouble. "Who reported this?"

"It was belatedly reported by Kakashi Hatake. Apparently he mentioned it to Naruto and then Naruto mentioned it to his sensei."

This didn't really change anything. If true Otonashi was a lot more valuable to his village than she had first thought. That didn't mean they wouldn't use him as a fall guy. If their real plan was to destroy Konoha sacrificing one ninja with a useful ability would be a fair trade.

"Lady Tsunade," Shizune said interrupting her thoughts. "Do you intend to inform the advisory Council about these recent events?"

Tsunade frowned, from the day she had become Hokage she had tried to limit their influence. The two of them had finally accepted that they were advisers and nothing else, which had diffused a lot of the tension between the three of them. Unfortunately, they had been meeting with Danzo lately and that was making her nervous. As far as she could tell all former Root members were inactive but, she didn't like the fact that there was an organization within her village that was not under her control. That always led to trouble even if they were acting in the best interest of the village.

"I will inform them as soon as I've decided on a course of action," she said. Shizune nodded but she seemed uncomfortable.

* * *

Hanabi Hyuga eye's slowly followed the names on the memorial monument until she came across the one she had come here to pay her respects too. While many Hyuga had added their names to this monument the only one that meant anything to her was the latest, her sister Hinata Hyuga. Unbidden a memory from early childhood came back to her. She had been playing a game by herself that involved her inching around the edge of the veranda on her toes. She had been approaching her goal when her legs simply gave out. She would've cracked her head against the stone if Hinata had not been there to catch her. Looking back now Hanabi wondered how long her sister had been there watching over her.

That had been their patterned though. Hinata had always been behind her a perversion of the normal sibling rivalry but, then they had never really been rivals. Considering what had been at stake between the two of them they had gotten along remarkably well. Hinata had always been a dependable playmate, but as they had got older she had drifted away from her. It had been their parents overall disapproval of Hinata that had encouraged her to put distance between the two of them.

In the end they had hardly talked. The last time Hanabi had seen Hinata was the night before her last mission. They had both been reading and her sister had said she was going to bed because of an early morning mission. She had barely looked away before muttering good night. Even if she had known it would be the last time they would see each other, what would she have said? The distance between them had hardly been increased by her death.

Still, she wished she could return to that time or even earlier. The simple fact was that Hinata had been the closest thing she'd ever had to a friend. Growing up she had been kept within the confines of the main house with only the occasional venture to the larger village outside. Her home had been a large world to explore but, it had been vacant of anyone her age. The Academy had hardly been better, her intelligence and talent had seem to scare off others.

It had been a memory of her sister that had given her hope. Hinata had been alone until she had graduated and been put on a team. Then Hanabi remembered that even her father and mother kept in contact with their old team. It had been that hope that drove her forward more than anything else. With the new rules and multiple graduation opportunities she managed to be considered a genius even among a graduating class full of them.

The problem with her plan seemed obvious now. She had graduated at ten and neither of her twelve year old teammates seemed to want her around. They weren't mean to her they just sort of ignored her. They would work with her on missions when necessary and they would train with her when there sensei was around but outside of that they wanted nothing to do with her. She couldn't help but contrast her team to Hinata's former team. They had seemed to enjoy spending time with each other. Maybe that comes with time she hoped.

Glancing at the monument shadow she realized it was time to go in without another thought about her sister she turned and left. Her team was meeting near a bridge today and as she approached the shorter of the two stood on the railing and waved. Curious about this odd behavior she hurried to join her two teammates.

Akeno the shorter of her two teammates turned to greet her and said, "Hey, Hanabi we were wondering if you could help us with something."

"Don't bring me into this," Takeo who towered over her by a head and a half said taking a step away from the two of them.

"Fine then Hanabi and I will split the winnings."

"What winnings?" Hanabi asked completely confused.

"You see," Akeno said kneeling down to be at her eye level. "Hoshiko was bragging about her team earlier because they took on some ninja during their last mission. Anyway, she kind of made a bet that their worst could beat our best. So are you up for it?"

Akeno smiled at her and she blushed as conflicting thoughts fought for dominance in her head. On the one hand her father had told her never to spar with anyone unless he or her sensei was observing. On the other hand this was the first time that anyone let alone one of her teammates had asked her to do something. Hanabi had never disobeyed her father before and it took more effort for her to nod her head in agreement then anyone could ever realize.

* * *

Sakura decided that she hated guard duty. Sure there had been a certain novelty to it for the first few hours but, after that it had just become tedious. She had been looking forward to going on a mission with her old team again too. Unfortunately, only the most important outgoing missions were still proceeding as scheduled and her team's mission had been one of those sacrificed. Now Naruto was off somewhere and Sasuke was reinforcing another gate.

She frowned as she looked over at the team she was reinforcing. In particular the blond haired girl that was her friend and occasional rival as she remembered what happened at Sasuke's house earlier that day. Kakashi had stopped by her house early to inform her that their mission had been scrubbed but, she and Sasuke should report for duty as soon as possible. Using this as a pretext to visit Sasuke at his home she had headed over to the Uchiha district. Passing under the small gate she had nearly collided with Kado as he appeared to be fleeing from his home.

The younger of the two remaining Uchiha still bared a passing resemblance to Sasuke when he was that age, but even dressed in his hand-me-downs no one could confuse the two. Kado was the complete opposite to Sasuke in almost every way possible except for when it came to talent.

Kado had been born and raised in Kemurigakure so he was an illegitimate child but, he held the Uchiha blood and had managed to activate his Sharingan. After his discovery and some _negotiations _it had been decided that he should live with his only remaining blood relative.

"Hey, Sakura I am in a bit of a rush so"

"What did you do?" She interrupted his explanation. Sasuke and Kado's relationship was complicated at the best of times.

Kado's grin faltered as he glanced back at the main house. "Well," he began drawing out the word. "You see, while Sasuke was away taking the Chunin Exam Ino asked me if I could help her with some Kenjutsu training. Since this is the first time they've trained together since then, I would prefer not to be here."

She allowed herself a smile as she let his arm go and he bolted. From what Sasuke had told her once he was slowly learning a fighting technique that negated some of the Sharingan's abilities. He had enlisted Kado's help in his training. Sakura wondered what Kado could have taught Ino in a month but, it might be worth watching. Hurrying past the abandoned buildings of the district she made her way around the main house to the back where she knew Sasuke frequently trained.

The sound of wooden swords striking each other was carried to her by the wind before she saw the two in the heat of a mock battle. She did not know much about Kenjutsu but, both Sasuke and Ino had taken up swords after the trouble with the samurai. Sasuke had been impressed by a particularly strong samurai he had fought while Ino's reason was a bit different. Sakura 

suspected that by taking up a weapon used by the people that had killed her father she felt empowered over them. Of course what was more likely was she was just using it as an excuse to get closer to Sasuke. Oddly that last thought didn't seem to upset her as much as it once would have. Still, she did feel a thrill as she watched Sasuke fight.

Despite what Ino might have learned she was being completely dominated. Sasuke struck quickly driving Ino backwards and she was barely able to block one blow before it was followed by another. Soon she was trapped as Sasuke pushed in for the kill. With a blink of the eye everything changed. One moment Ino was being forced to one knee and the next she was behind Sasuke wooden sword poised to decapitate him.

Sakura was as shocked as Sasuke was. Sasuke recovered before Sakura did and turning he asked a question. Before Ino could answer Sakura called out to him. She briefly wondered why she couldn't wait a minute but, she suspected something was going to happen and she didn't want it to.

"There's a wagon coming," Chouji's voice called out breaking into her memories.

While all the gates of Konoha were wide enough to receive wagons and customers could use all three, the only gate that accepted wagon traffic from civilians was the eastern. She along with the rest of Team Asuma stepped out from behind the wall and waited to inspect the cart. As it came to a stop nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was a driver for the ox team and next to him sat a man that was probably the merchant that owned the supplies. On either side of the cart stood two samurai guards.

While these samurai only carried a single sword she was nervous around them. Wrapping the cart lightly with a staff she tested for concealed compartments or anything else out of the ordinary. Ino searched through their personal possessions while Chouji just stood back and looked intimidating. This was the third cart they had inspected today and everything seemed normal. She only half listened to Shikamaru's interrogation.

"What's in the barrels?" Shikamaru asked in a bored tone.

"Sake, would you like a free sample. What I'm I saying, I doubt you're old enough to partake in some of the finer things in life." The man's tone was jovial which seemed to be a trait of all merchants and he had a deep laugh. Still, Sakura wondered why they all seemed to think it was a good idea to point out how young they were.

"We will need to test a sample from each of your barrels before you're allowed to sell them. They will be held at a warehouse at our expense until the tests come back." Shikamaru continued ignoring the earlier comment.

Ino was already opening the lid and taking out a syringe full of liquid from each barrel. So far everything seemed normal but, Ino surreptitiously flashed her the warning sign. She covered her surprise by pretending to be interested in a knot in the wood.

"Yeah I know how it works but, has anyone really tried to sell you poison sake before?" The man continued.

"Everything seems in order," Shikamaru said ignoring the last question. "By the way turn right as soon as you get inside and follow the signs. There was a fire last night and a building collapsed into the street, it's still blocking part of the normal route."

That last part of Shikamaru's speech wasn't true. However, to do a more thorough investigation they wanted the cart to be within the walls of Konoha and away from any outside observers Sakura thought as she followed the cart inside. As the cart turned to parallel the defensive wall of Konoha Shikamaru stepped into the walls shadow. A second later his shadow had captured all four men freezing them in place. Chouji's arms and hands expanded to capture the two samurai in a firm grip while she and Ino secured the driver and the merchant, the whole operation from start to finish took less than five seconds.

"Ino what are you suspicious of?" Shikamaru asked his bored guard persona dropped replaced with a very serious Chunin.

"This guy has too many calluses on his hands to be a merchant," Ino answered tightening her grip on the merchant in question.

Jumping onto the wagon Shikamaru quickly removed one of the lids from the barrels. Peering into the barrel he gently kicked it and then shoved it off the cart spilling its contents into the streets. Shikamaru kicked in the bottom of the barrel with a loud crack and a second later he bent down and held up a handful of exploding notes.


	4. Preparations

"They left me up there on the roof for three hours in the freezing rain before bothering to tell me that the mission had been scrubbed," Otonashi finished his story laughing at the memory.

Naruto smiled and looked down at his empty ramenbowl. He had been asked to talk to Otonashi to see if he was acting differently but, they had spent most of the morning together and he seemed normal. Granted at first it had been a bit uncomfortable. The last time the two of them talked, Otonashi had asked him to defect and then warned him that his village might try to kill him. They had handled that particularly awkward moment in their past in a reasonable and very adult manner. Both pretended it never happened

For the most part they just caught up with each other, Otonashi had told him about some of his clients and he in turn told him about Jiraiya and some of their misadventures. Neither of them had said anything really important at least Naruto didn't think so. "Will I guess I should get going and get some training in," he said standing up from the table.

"Have fun, I'm stuck in this apartment until I'm needed again." Otonashi picked up both of their bowls and headed to the small kitchen that had come with the apartment. "Naruto," he called over his shoulder as he was about to leave. "When you report to the Hokage would you mind telling her that I'm supposed to aid your village in it defense as a gesture of good faith? I was supposed to tell her that during our meeting but, frankly she scares me." He laughed to himself, "I'm not a very good ambassador, am I?"

Naruto froze ashamed he'd been caught spying on his friend and embarrassed that it had been that easy. "Um, how did you know?"

"This close to an attack I doubt your village would let you take a morning off to catch up with an old friend. My village would have done the same thing," he said turning away from him.

"Sorry," Naruto said dejectedly.

"It's no big deal. Just give that message to the Hokage okay."

Naruto nodded before beating a hasty retreat. He barely notice the guard stationed outside of the door as he turned to rush down the staircase only to come up short by a peculiar couple in the stairwell. The tall figure was familiar with his mask and book. Kakashi his sensei and leader of his team had not changed at all since the last time he had seen him. The figure next to him was unfamiliar but, at the same time he had the feeling that he should know him. Before he could ask what they were doing a bug that he had not noticed flew from his belt and landed on the unknown persons' outstretched hand before climbing up his sleeve.

"Shino," he questioned his brain unable to keep up with this string of odd events.

"Naruto it has not been that long since we last saw each other you should try harder to remember your comrades."

Yeah that was definitely Shino he thought before turning his attention to Kakashi who of the two would probably be less cryptic. "What are you doing here?"

Kakashi put away his book and looked at his student "Now don't get angry Naruto."

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked getting angry. He was starting to have a suspicion and didn't like it.

"Voice stress analysis," Shino supplied causing Naruto to blink at the unfamiliar words.

"Shino why don't you report back and I'll talk to Naruto."

Shino seemed to hesitate and said to Naruto, "I would like to catch up with you later." Then turned and left.

"We were eavesdropping in on your conversation," Kakashi held up a hand to forestall a righteous rant. "We only did this to strengthen Otonashi credentials. When somebody from his village comes offering information there are those who are skeptical and some who would dismiss it out of hand."

"Why?"

Kakashi paused collecting his thoughts. "You were probably only three or four when we were at war with Kumogakure. It was a short war but it was hard fought. They attacked us while we were allies but, that's not unusual. They also attacked us during negotiations and tried to kidnap one of the Hyuga"

"I know about that," Naruto grinned as Kakashi seemed surprised.

"Well after Kumogakure discovered the deception the Raikage almost restarted the war but he died in a tragic training accident when he fell on his own kenai." Kakashi's single eye curved up in a smile, "at least that's the official story. Unofficially there was a coup and another faction took power within the village. We know there are some in that village that would still like to see us destroyed so many are very wary about your friend."

"Otonashi doesn't want to attack the village."

"Yes, we now have undeniable evidence that Otonashi believes everything he has told us and you helped. You see when somebody is lying you can tell by the voice if you know what you're looking for. Unfortunately, it takes a long time especially when the person is prepared. You're conversation was the best opportunity we had."

"You should've told me you were going to do that," Naruto shouted taking a step forward.

Kakashi made a pleading motion, "it wasn't my call but, everything did turn out all right in the end."

Naruto considered that for a minute and decided it still wasn't all right and he was going to let his sensei know that.

* * *

Genma dismissed his team late in the afternoon. Normally, the three of them would have simply gone their separate ways but today was different. Even Takeo who initially didn't want anything to do with the bet that Akeno had made now was excited about the upcoming fight. Hanabi was less interested. Her stomach was upset and she realized this was what it was like to be anxious. Life in the Hyuga household was very structured with lots of rules and this was the first time she was consciously disobeying one. Still, it was worth it.

The three of them had grabbed a quick cup of tea before heading over to an empty training field. It hadn't been a tea she was used to and the conversation was sparse but it was better than her home. At home she could easily go through the day without talking to anyone besides her parents. In theory she could talk to branch members but they were either much older than herself or they were much younger.

"Here they come," Takeo said. "You know you can still back out of this Hanabi if you want to."

"No she can't. Besides it will be a walk in the park for her as long as she can use her Byakugan."

Hanabi head snapped around to look at her teammate, "I thought you said this was going to be hand-to-hand?"

"It is but you can use defensive Jutsu. That's how they defeated me. He created all this mist and I couldn't see anything."

Akeno comment confused Hanabi since what he was saying now was very different then what he had said earlier. Before she could ask for an explanation Hoshiko spoke up from the approaching trio.

"You brought the Princess, it won't make any difference," she said smirking.

Hanabi's jaw clenched at the old nickname. Hoshiko's hatred towards her stemmed from the fact that she had taken her place at the top of the class. Why this would upset her so much was beyond Hanabi's comprehension but, the nickname she had given her caught on among the other students. Apparently she hadn't changed much since graduation. In fact the only thing that was different about her was her clothes. They had gotten considerably shorter showing even more of the light scarring that covered her arms and legs.

"Hum, I think we need to call this off." Kado the so-called lost Uchiha spoke up glancing over at his teammates nervously. Despite his pedigree Hanabi did not think that he had distinguished himself in any particular way at the Academy.

"Relax," Hoshiko snapped. "Ranmaru is fine with it, right." She added bringing out a wad of bills.

Ranmaru shrugged and stepped forward apparently he was the one fighting from their team. She struggled to remember something about him. He had been strong academically and had a strong defense but he never seemed to be able to take advantage of openings. At least that's what she could remember from the handful of times she had seen him spar someone else at the Academy.

"Same rules as before no weapons, no offense Jutsu and no grappling," Akeno said from behind her.

Something was telling Hanabi to step away. This was very different than what she had been initially told but, she was sure Akeno wouldn't forgive her if she backed out now. Instead she took several steps forward and tried to ignore her instincts. Everybody else fell back leaving her and Ranmaru alone in the field.

"Whenever the princess is ready," Hoshiko shouted from the edge of the field.

Hanabi felt a flash of anger and she dropped into a defensive stance. Ranmaru on the other end of the field just smiled at her not bothering to move. He seemed to be inviting an attack so she stood her ground wanting him to go on the offensive.

The late day sun pounded down on them ruthlessly. Seconds stretched into minutes and neither moved. Suddenly he quickly made several hand signs and a dense mist arose out of no where. For a moment she was impressed because despite the heat there was little humidity in the air and no water in the area. However, the Hidden Mist Technique which she guessed he was using was useless against the Byakugan.

Her world shrank to thirty meters as people were reduced to their mere chakra circulatory system. She could feel the increase in blood flow as a slight throbbing around her eyes it was not a wholly unpleasant sensation. Ranmaru had hardly moved from his place and she was beginning to wonder what he was up too. Suddenly she felt as if someone was standing behind her but before she could react, her world went black and she fell to the ground.

* * *

The first sensation that came back to Hanabi was literally a pain in her neck closely followed by a headache. Opening her eyes she noticed that the sky was changing colors. Sitting up she rubbed her neck and looked from side to side only to discover that she was alone.

"You're awake. I was just about to take you to the hospital."

Hanabi spun around on her knees to see who had spoken. The voice belonged to a young woman who was wearing a trench coat and little else. Casually she finished the dango she was eating and said, "Fighting for money. I wonder what your father would think."

She felt her face flush with shame and she swallowed her pride. The thought of what her father would say to her and worst what he would think of her was too much. "Please don't tell him."

"Follow with your eyes," the woman moved the empty dango stick in a slow circle as Hanabi followed it with her eyes. "You're fine." The woman looked down at her skeptically. "I'll tell you what you run a few laps around Konoha and I will keep this little incident to myself, okay?"

Hanabi nodded which caused a slight wave of nausea to come over her. She stood ready to fulfill her part of the agreement when a thought occurred to her. "Where are my teammates?"

"Oh, they're already running," the woman answered examining the empty stick as if expecting more dango to magically appear on it.

She nodded grateful that they just hadn't left her for no reason and wondered if she could catch up with them. Starting at a slow jog she felt something fly passed her ear. The empty dango stick embedded itself a meter in front of her causing her to freeze. The woman shouted. "I said run!"

As Hanabi disappeared over the horizon Anko pondered the wad of money she had confiscated from her three students. It was hardly enough to cover a month's worth of dango but she couldn't let them keep it. She didn't always follow the rules either but, they had all put one of their teammates in danger and that she wouldn't tolerate.

Hopefully the girl would keep her mouth shut to keep herself out of trouble. However, if she ran and told her father what had happened there could be trouble in Ranmaru's future. On the bright side she mused they now knew that Ranmaru could hide his presence even from the Byakugan. Still, what had he been thinking knocking her out like that?

She briefly amused herself with what she would do to punish her students. They were on a mission right now. That was why she had to track them down originally even before handing in her own report from her last assassination mission. The thought of the report she still had to write and the mission that had been more frustrating than difficult darkened her mood further. Then she thought about the upcoming attack and her mood dramatically improved. This could lead to another chance to kill her former teacher and she would have a few days to let her imagination run wild on her young student's punishment.

* * *

"There's another one in that bar. The bomb is in the storage room on the floor covered by a bunch of boxes."

Kado Uchiha noted the building on the map that was surreptitiously strapped to his arm while his third teammate wrote down the location of the tag in a similar manner. The three of them had been wandering the streets of Konoha for the last several hours on a mission to find exploding 

tags. So far they had found four in separate locations. Casually he noticed that all the tags were placed where they would start fires when they exploded. Granted alcohol wasn't a great accelerant but it would probably take out the building.

The trio ducked into a nearby alley so he could reposition the map on his arm. Glancing up at the star speckled sky he made a suggestion. "I think we should call it a night."

"What are you insane? There are," she cut herself off and looked towards the crowded street. Their mission was supposed to be a secret. That was why the Hokage had assigned Ranmaru to sweep the village for exploding tags. He was a lot more subtle than a Hyuga whose veins became pronounced when activating their Byakugan.

Hoshiko glared at him but she had lost most of her edge that had scared him when they were younger. There were days now that Kado could almost imagine her as a friend. "We can't call it a night," she said firmly.

Ranmaru broke the stalemate, "it's getting late and were starting to stand out. There aren't too many people our age out this late at night."

"Fine but give me the map and I'll hand it in. I want to see both of you here tomorrow by six so we can finish our sweep." With that she yanked the map off his arm and took to the rooftops.

"She's in a bad mood," he commented.

"Sensei is angry with us and that's upsetting her."

Kado hadn't been expecting a response from his shortest teammate but, now that he brought up the subject. "Why'd you go through with the fight when you saw that you were going to fight a Hyuga?"

Ranmaru shrugged, "I'm not supposed to activate my eyes where a Hyuga can see. There was mist blocking her view."

"I don't think that's what they meant," Kado said shaking his head. Ranmaru's kekkei genkai was somewhat of an open secret. Only about ten people knew about it and only a handful of them knew its full extent. In fact they were still finding things out about it. For example they had only found out recently that he could not only conceal his presence from other highly trained ninja but he could also conceal the presence of others.

It was an interesting Dojutsu which was why nobody wanted the Hyuga to know about it. He could only guess at the type of pressure they could put on Ranmaru. A brief look through some of his own clan's records showed him how nasty they could get and Ranmaru wasn't prepared for that.

The only reason he was allowed in on the secret was the simple fact that all the remaining Uchiha were male. Not that Sasuke would care even if there was some way he could take advantage of it.

"See you tomorrow," Ranmaru said turning and waving over his shoulder.

"Yeah, see you." He watched the lavender hair boy leave before sighing. The one good thing about this late day mission was that it gave him an excuse to avoid Sasuke. He was pretty sure that Sasuke wouldn't be too upset with him for helping Ino to win one match against him. Then again he could be moody.

Trudging home he had the vague hope that he could get to his room before being stopped and questioned by Sasuke. A smirk tugged at his lips, when he had left Kemurigakure to live with his only remaining relative he had expected someone very different than Sasuke. The thought of his hometown darkened his mood. Kemurigakure had been destroyed not long after he had left by samurai using weapons that weren't supposed to exist. The thought of his dead friends and acquaintances was painful enough but, what really bothered him was the thought of the untended grave of his mother. He had never known her but he still felt a connection to her more so than to the countless dead Uchiha one of which was his father.

He hardly noticed entering the district he called home and he had no idea he was being watched until the dark figure spoke. "You're back late."

Kado spun around on his heel looking for Sasuke. It took him a second to find the black on black figure. He was casually leaning against a sloped roof a book in hand although it was too dark to be reading outside.

He forced a smile, "Sasuke so good to see you. I have an early mission tomorrow so I'm off to bed."

"Not so fast." Sasuke leapt down in front of him. "I had a match with Ino this morning. Like always I had my Sharingan activated and for a moment I could not predict her movements. Care to explain?"

"Not really," stepping around him he felt a hand grab his shoulder holding him back.

"Who's idea was it," it wasn't a question but a command.

Shrugging off his hand Kado turned to face him. "Listen when you went off to take your exam she stopped by and we got to talking about your training."

"You told her about the Shadow Step?" Sasuke said referring to the training Kado and his Sensei helped him with. It could confuse the Sharingan ability to predict movement which was what had happen to Sasuke during the fight.

"Sort of but, I just helped her with the one move and it was completely her idea," Sasuke had an unusual expression on his face. Kado realized that Sasuke was pleased a rare event and suddenly everything clicked. "You _like_ her!"

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke said turning away from him.

Kado knew he was kicking a sleeping dog but it wasn't everyday he had something like this on Sasuke. "Think of your children combining the Sharingan with the Yamanaka family's special Jutsu, it would certainly be interesting."

"That's enough."

"And she has childbearing hips. You always say you want to rebuild the clan..."

Sasuke rounded on him trying to suppress a smile, "you know I've been thinking about that."

Kado blinked Sasuke was only fifteen years old and barely at that. There was no way he could be seriously considering marriage at his age, "but you're too young."

"Not for me for you. As the clan head its one of my duties to arrange marriages. I've been thinking about Hoshiko for you. I'm sure if I offer her enough money and control of your household she will agree."

Kado blinked at Sasuke's retreating back before running to catch up with him. "Hey, you're kidding right? You do know she's a psycho."


	5. The Attack Begins

Authors note: Okay so this is a short chapter but, I didn't want to spread the battle out so much. Anyway, I've tweaked the earlier chapters because they needed it. No big changes but hopefully they flow better.

* * *

To an outside observer, the days leading up to the Senjin festival seemed normal. Every sign pointed to a village preparing for a small and local festival. Stalls were erected and there was even a small uptake in the amount of sake that was imported. After all the festival was meant to honor their ancestors and that would require a lot of drinking to their memory. There were even ninjas leaving on missions up to the day before the festival was supposed to take place. Then the gates were closed and were not open signifying that they would not be accepting new clients although, any Konoha ninja coming back would be welcome.

Nobody noticed the ANBU that quietly and efficiently removed the exploding tags that had been surreptitiously placed around the village. Nor did anyone notice that one of the Genin team sensei's came back without his team. The first hint that all was not normal took place in the early morning hours of the day of the festival.

The interrogation of the four prisoners had revealed some interesting information. Of the four only one proved to be an actual ninja. The other three were hired only three days ago unknowingly duped into being part of his cover. His mission had been to place the tags in the residential areas of Konoha particularly where they would start fires. Then he was supposed to meet up with two other agents after the raid to carry out another mission although he claimed ignorance of any details.

Like all hidden villages Konoha had a certain number of clients, merchants and assorted others who had business within the village. Every single one of them was a security risk. That was why they were confined to a fairly plush hotel at night. To the surprise of these guests they were awoken at one o'clock in the morning counted and then moved to a shelter with the only explanation that it was for their safety. What they didn't know was that their number had come up two short launching a frantic search for two enemy agents. Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be found.

As the sun rose ninjas of all ranks informed their civilian family members to report to the shelters and the Academy had an unexpected evacuation drill. As the day went on more and more people disappeared from the streets as they were informed they had to report to the shelters. A few civilian stayed behind to staff the hospital and to form fire brigades. They knew what was being asked of them.

Large speakers provided the necessary noise to give the illusion that Konoha was still a bustling town. By mid-afternoon the festival should have been in full swing but, the stalls were empty 

and only a few Genin and clones moved about the festival grounds to aid in the illusion of normalcy.

There were fewer guards then normal on the defensive wall of Konoha today. This was a calculated risk, they were going to be hit hard and casualties would be high. The plan called for them to put up a stubborn resistance but not an effective one. In short they were to form a skirmish line.

It was the least experienced guard on the southern gate that first noticed the wagon approaching. This was odd, because this gate did not accept deliveries. As the wagon approached pulled by two strong oxen they were able to see the driver through binoculars. He wore a broad brimmed hat of a type common among local farmers that obscured his face. It took them a minute to realize that his muscles were completely slack. He was quite dead. The attack had begun.

* * *

Kabuto leaned against a tree looking up through the branches at the sky and frowned. A massive Cirrostratus cloud hung in the sky, large and virtually transparent it seemed to make a halo foreshadowing rain. This unexpected turn of events could put their plan in jeopardy. If all went as planned fire would rage through the city of Konoha and the last thing they needed was a last-minute intervention from the heavens. Still if it held out for a few more hours they could still do massive damage.

Like all cities, towns and villages there was a lot of wood construction in Konoha. Although like all hidden villages they used less of this combustible material than any civilian town would. For a moment he thought about questioning the man that stood a few feet away from him on the subject but, with a glance Kabuto could see he was deep in meditation and it wasn't like they could call off the operation now anyways.

Not that he particularly looked forward to fighting. He would prefer to be in his lab dissecting his latest specimen. Originally, he wasn't supposed to participate in this raid but, with Kidomaru recent disappearance and presumed dead they had been one man short. For a moment he could almost curse Kumogakure for their not-so-subtle hint.

True they hadn't claimed responsibility for the destruction of their new base but all signs were pointing in their direction. Though why would they take Kidomaru's body he wondered. It could have been for the curse seal but, there had been others there with the same seal that had been left alone. It made him wonder if this raid had been compromised. He had tried to argue that point but, their benefactors were eager to see a large-scale operation pulled off and threatened to pull their support if they didn't go through with it. Besides as Orochimaru had pointed out most of these forces were not even his and it wasn't like Kidomaru had been entrusted with all the details. There was also the little side mission they had planned.

"Sir, my preparations are complete. I am fully prepared to carry out my part of the mission."

Kabuto turned his head and nodded in acknowledgment. The man who had spoken was Ryoichi the linchpin of this plan. Slightly older than himself he was short and plump and yet he had managed to create a Jutsu that was perfect for this situation. "As soon as the others check-in we can begin. Sakon," he turned to the man behind him. "Wake your brother. I want you two in the second stage and we will need your summoning ability."

Sakon shook his brother who was currently sharing his body "Come on wake up Ukon it's time to fight."

He ignored the two as their curse mark slowly started to spread over them. Turning on his radio for the first time today he said, "Status."

There was a moment of silence before Jirobo's gravelly voice came over the radio, "In position. We have made no contact with any patrols."

Tayuya voice came over the radio a second later, "Ready." There was a pause and then she swore, "Why are there so many fucking bugs in this place."

"Tayuya your language is both inappropriate for your gender and the situation."

"Shut up fat ass!"

"Enough, I'm beginning the attack." Kabuto appreciated Jirobo's attempt to clean up Tayuya's mouth but now was not the time for it. He gestured to set the cart loose. It looked normal enough but it had been packed with exploding tags and more importantly magnesium. When the cart exploded the magnesium would be ignited and as it burned it would create a bright light temporarily blinding anyone who was looking in its direction. The corpse that was wired into the driver's seat was from his private collection.

Crouching he covered his ears and stepped behind a tree facing away from the village and waded. The guard's shouts were surprised at first as he expected. They tried to wave the cart away with no luck. As the cart past the halfway point between the woods and the gate he knew one of the guards would throw a kenai right in front of the ox team. This last warning went unheeded and a hail of kenai descended tearing into the beasts.

A second later the wagon exploded with a bright flash blinding anyone who had not shielded their eyes. For a moment the world became brighter and the shadows lengthened. He gave no orders, they weren't needed. Five squads of ten men each cleared the open field before jumping on the walls. They took it with little resistance. The defenders that didn't retreat died where they stood stunned and confused.

The four of them followed after the wall was taken and secured. Allowing the Twins to take the lead he hung back with Ryoichi the men he was suppose to guard for now. The four of them 

were on the wall shortly after the attack had begun. Sakon and Ukon stood on either side of him and shouted, "Rashomon." When summoned the first demonic gate was just as wide as the wall itself. Ryoichi and himself now towered over Konoha, taking in the view of his former hometown. Suddenly he realized that the mishmash of various colored buildings were annoyingly intact. When the wagon exploded it was supposed to create a chain reaction that would set off the other exploding tags. Had the system failed or had their agents been caught?

"Why are there no fires? I can't create a firestorm without their support."

"Just do as much damage as you can," he snapped. Turning to his radio he spoke, "Squads two and three advance into the city and start as many fires as you can. All remaining squads pull the perimeter back. Nobody can get through. Tayuya, Jirobo what is your status."

"We'll be at the hospital in ten," Tayuya clipped.

"We're starting our ascent. We should be at the first shelter in four minutes," Jirobo answered concisely.

"Alright proceed with caution they might be more prepared than we thought." Kabuto turned as he felt a breeze.

Ryoichi had started his Jutsu. The man knelt, his eyes closed hands locked in the tiger seal. A string of fire spilled from his mouth but it did not look like normal fire. Fire was naturally wild but this fire almost seemed as if it was controlled. The stream of fire pooled into a giant spherical ball that seemed to spin slowly. The fire sucked in nearby air creating a breeze that seemed to grow stronger as the size of the sphere increased. As he watched a small piece of fire no larger than a sparrow shot out of the sphere. The Firebird darted towards one of the newly created fires dripping its mass along the way. It plunged into the fire and came out as if it was reborn before crashing into another wooden building. So this is the Thousand Sparrow Technique, he thought, interesting.

* * *

Otonashi was grateful to the Hokage for letting him out of the apartment. Although she probably just didn't want to spare a guard during the attack but, it helped him fulfill his orders. Regardless of the reason behind it he was glad to be able to move freely. Well that wasn't really true he had to stay in this restaurant with the rest of team seven until they could counter attack.

All that time in the apartment had given him time to ponder all the consequences of failure of his mission. He had done all he could but, if Sound changed their plan of attack or worst cancel it altogether, he would be in a lot of trouble and any further cooperation between their two villages would be at an end. A few years ago this wouldn't have been a problem but, the balance of power was all mixed up now.

Having five great nations had been ideal. Unfortunately with Kirigakure still recovering there was only four and that was making some people ambitious. During the previous great wars it had always been a two on three. Generally one village and usually it had been his, would switch sides when either they were offered a better deal or they were losing. When that happened it would tip the scales and negotiations were rarely far away.

Things would have continued this way if the previous Raikage had not launched a surprise attack on Konoha. It should've been an easy victory but, it didn't turn out that way. They had lost a lot of ninjas and there were many who wanted revenge on Konoha for their defeat. If they were continually weakened in this war with Otogakure many in his village would see it as a chance for revenge. With Iwagakure long standing desire for Konoha's destruction there'd be little if anything to stop the two from launching a surprise attack. The smaller villages would do what they had to survive and either Sunagakure would stay silent or be destroyed. Leaving only two giants left in the world and how long could they coexist. At least that's how it had been explained to him by the Raikage and personally he preferred not to think about it.

"I've never seen anything like that," Sakura commented as she took a seat across from him.

"Really," he said happy to leave his thoughts behind. "It's a fairly common way to deliver poisons." He unscrewed the hollow end of the kenai and showed her the small vial that was inside. "It's basically like a hypodermic needle only in this case the needles tip is the point of the kenai and it only injects the poisons applied when you put pressure on the hilt. I prefer it over coding weapons with the stuff because if you have to throw it you never know who might pick them up afterwards."

"What kind of poison is it?"

"It's from a rock snake. I normally use neurotoxins but, if I brought my good stuff, I'm sure you guys would copy it." He smiled to take any sting out of words. "Mind if I ask you a question?"

"It's only fair."

"What's up with Naruto? He nodded towards the blond who was pacing back and forth to the annoyance of everyone.

Sakura shrugged and shouted at him, "Sit down Naruto you're making us all nervous."

"He's late," Naruto answered. "I thought he'd be on time today."

"Naruto, I've trained with Kakashi for nearly two years. He was on time once and that was because he forgot to set his clock back." Sasuke added without looking away from the book he was reading.

"I'm sure he has a reason. After all he is a Jounin."Otonashi was cut off as Naruto erupted in laughter and even Sakura had to hide her smile.

"Like Sasuke said, Sensei is always late. The first time we were suppose to meet him he had us wait for more than two hours," Sakura supplied.

"Yeah and he always has these lame excuses like he got lost on the road of life or a black cat crossed his path," Naruto added.

As if he had been waiting for such a comment, Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke right behind Naruto. "Sorry I'm late but, my ears were burning so I had to go to the hospital." Stepping around Naruto who seemed to be frozen in fear he continued. "I just wanted to say I'm proud of all three of you. I wanted to test your skills before taking you into battle again but, time has not permitted it. However, I know all three of you worked hard so forget nothing you have learned and we shall get through this."

Otonashi smiled to himself. That speech would not go down in history as a great one but, it seemed to lift the mood in the room. His sensei had never said many good things about him. Of course he had not been at his best before his sensei had died. He felt a slight tremor and suddenly the mood changed again.


	6. Springing the Trap

Naruto didn't understand time. When he had been with Jiraiya, there had been times where he would look up from whatever he was doing and struggle to remember if that was the sunrise or sunset. Then there were times particularly when he had to wait the three minutes for his ramen that seemed eternal. In his more existential moments he would wonder about this but then the noodles would be done.

That was why the five minutes he had to wait until they could counterattack felt like an eternity. The fact that his village, his home was being attacked, while he sat back and did nothing went against every fiber of his being. He was busily grinding his teeth down to his gums when Kakashi stopped listening to his radio and gave them orders.

"There's a slight change in plans. Sakura and I will join a group hunting down some ninjas setting fire to buildings while the rest of you head for the gate itself." He glanced over at Otonashi as he finished.

"Don't look at me. I never claimed we knew everything."

Kakashi's eye curved up in a smile. "Actually, I was just going to say although you're the senior chunin here, Sasuke will be in charge. Now go!" As soon as Kakashi finish they disappeared.

"What's that?" Naruto asked as the three of them ran towards the gate sticking to the streets to maintain some stealth.

The object he was asking about stood on top of the wall and slightly to the right of the southern gate. It looked like a gate but, it had an evil presence about it. The face on the doors were demonic its mouth opened in a silent scream. The doors were shrouded by a reddish wall with spikes protruding from it. Two massive weights dangled from chains on either side. The top was disappointingly normal having an ordinary roof.

"There are people up there." As Sasuke spoke several bird like objects made out of fire flew from the top and into the village. They circled briefly dripping fire before crashing into buildings starting small fires.

"They're using it as a step stool," Otonashi commented amused.

Naruto could now see and smell the smoke from the burning buildings. He increased his speed leaving his two friends behind. The indiscriminate destruction seemed so meaningless that he had to fight back the all too tempting chakra of Kyuubi. He was so fixated on reaching the monolithic structure that he barely heard the kenai in time. Leaping backward he was just in time to avoid several kenais. Ducking as he sensed more than heard somebody trying to cut him in half. It was then he realized he blundered into a trap.

Kicking off of the sword wielder he rolled away forming a familiar hand seal. However, no sooner than he had created the clones then he was shoved to the ground by one. Shuriken peppered the ground behind him and he wondered how many enemies he was surrounded by. Rolling to his feet Naruto was just in time to intercept another ninja who was trying to use a kenai to stab him. Catching his attackers for arm Naruto pulled and flipped the guy onto his back. Applying a little pressure to his elbow he heard a satisfying snap.

"Get down!"

Naruto had barely complied with Sasuke's command when a huge fireball seemed to engulf the entire street. The heat was so intense that it brought tears to his eyes and he made a mental note to kick Sasuke's ass at the earliest opportunity when the fire disappeared. Climbing back to his feet for the second time in less than a minute he looked round for the enemy only to find that the enemy had taken to the roofs for safety.

"Idiot, don't run ahead of us like that." Naruto didn't acknowledge Sasuke scolding as his two companions ran up to meet him. "How many do you think there are?"

"Nine maybe ten," Otonashi answered.

"We don't have time for this," Naruto shouted creating a dozen clones. Their existence was brief though, as he sent them off to the roofs most were cut down by a hail of various projectiles. The few that made it to the roofs entered into a wild melee combat joined by the original trio. The simple fact was as the clones were destroyed they were simply outnumbered against similarly strong opponents. While they were able to whittle down the numbers by one each they ran into the problem that their opponents were more interested in stalling them then defeating them.

Naruto jumped back to avoid a flying kenai and tried to form hand seals but, he was interrupted as the man he was attacking before charged him. It was then that he noticed a green flash approaching and he grinned. Seconds later his opponent was hit with a kick so powerful that it literally sent him through the roof they were standing on. "Bushy Browse," Naruto had never been so relieved to see his strange friend before.

"Naruto leave the rest of them to my team. Somebody needs to stop those firebirds destroying the village and we shall join you shortly."

Naruto nodded and jumped back down to street level closely followed by his other two teammates. "Shouldn't we stay and help them," Otonashi asked glancing back concerned.

"That team is built for this exact type of situation. Trust me we would just get in their way," Sasuke answered.

The demonic gate was close and they could easily pick out the forms on top of it. They were able to watch two figures descending to intercept them. "This is going to come down to one on one fights but remember our objective is to stop those firebirds."

"Yeah, I got it." Naruto snapped at Sasuke before creating a clone and speeding up. Targeting the man further back he took in his opponent's odd appearance and shrugged it off. In his hand he started to create the Rasengan.

* * *

Kabuto switched off his radio. His forces would either succeed in their objectives or fail. He would not micromanage them and it wasn't like one depended on the other. Slightly annoyed he turned his attention to the three ninjas that had broken through his defensive line. His annoyance turned to interest as he thought he recognized two of them. The one in orange could be no one other then Naruto Uzumaki. There was no way two ninjas would willingly wear that particular color of construction cone orange. He strongly suspected the other one was Sasuke which was convenient. Whoever the third was he couldn't guess and didn't care.

"Sakon, Ukon go stop them but let Sasuke pass." One of them nodded he wasn't sure which one since they were both in their second stage. Jumping off the gate they moved to intercept.

They were able to stop Naruto and the other one but the raven haired teen continued towards him. Glancing over at Ryoichi who was absorbed in his Jutsu and judging he would be okay for a few minutes he prepared for a fight. Sasuke was now close enough that he could confirm his identity. This was going to be interesting.

Moving to the side of Rashoumon he watched Sasuke run up the wall with the use of his chakra. However, as soon as his foot touched Rashoumon he lost his grip and fell partially back down the wall before recovering. Jumping from the top to one of the weights dangling from the side like a particularly gaudy piece of jewelry, Kabuto grabbed onto the chain and leaned over.

"Interesting thing about this summons it tends to absorb any chakra applied to it. If you want to get to the top you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way." Sasuke's reaction to his kind advice was to throw a shuriken at his throat. It had been pretty fast but easy to dodge. "You know we were surprised at first when you didn't take up our offer. It took us months to figure out why. We were unaware that your situation had changed. You could've brought him with you, you know?"

Kabuto casually threw a kenai forcing Sasuke to stop his climb and take cover behind a spike. Kabuto didn't usually carry a lot of projectile weapons but, he had made an exception this time for the mission. Kidoumaru had really been ideal for this position he mused to himself. An infinite supply of arrows would've been really handy right about now he thought as he threw another kenai causing Sasuke to take cover behind a spike.

Normally, this would be an easy climb but, without the use of chakra it was like a civilian climbing a cliff. Sasuke could still channel chakra to his legs to jump unusually high but, that would leave him exposed. Still, he wished he could have this conversation in a civilized manner.

"You know in a very short time you're going to be dead so why don't you just shut up!" Sasuke called out from where he was taking cover.

"Can you honestly say this is what you want? Are you happy wearing that chunin vest? Is that all you are?" Sasuke was now climbing the edge of the Rashoumon gate. Judging his jump he leapt to a spike a few feet above Sasuke and said in a quieter voice, "If you're staying with Konoha out of some sense of loyalty there's no reason for it. I'm sure you're aware that your clan predates Konoha."

Sasuke chose that moment to make a move. He swung himself forward leaping onto a protruding spike right before he appeared behind thrusting a kenai foreword. Kabuto found it disturbingly easy to turn and pin his hand against the wall. "You're capable of so much more."

"I'm not leaving my home," Sasuke said emphatically before smirking and leaping backwards.

Kabuto barely heard the distinctive sound of an exploding note burning down to detonation. Channeling chakra to his leg muscles he jumped clearing the top of the demonic gate. Once he was in midair he recognized his mistake. Pulling his legs to his chest he threw a protective arm around his throat and shielded his eyes. Three kenai were thrown at him. One was deflected by a fourth at the last second causing it to go down behind him. If he had been slower they would've hit two vital points.

Landing on the roof he immediately started to pull them out and heal himself. One of them had cut right to the bone and even his considerable healing abilities were hard-pressed to heal that much muscle in that short of a time. It was then that he noticed that the light breeze that had been present was gone. Turning he saw why. Ryoichi was slumped over a kenai embedded into the side of his throat. With his death his fireball had disappeared into the ether.

Kabuto came to a conclusion then. Sasuke would not come to Orochimaru willingly and the team whose mission it was to collect him would fail if they were still around. That was bad news but, the good news was Sasuke no longer had a monopoly on the Sharingan. True Sasuke was more mature and had a more developed Sharingan but, the younger one would be easier to grab. Silently preparing a chakra scalpel he focused on one thought. Sasuke had to die now.

* * *

For ninjas there were two types of fights. The first type was the knockdown drag out fights that made great stories to retell. The greatest of these became legend and could literally change the landscape of where they happen. Those were what most people thought of when they imagined battles. Otonashi hoped he would never be in such a battle.

He preferred the quick battles. The type of battles that were over in a few seconds or even before one of the participants knew they were in a fight. Those types of battles played to his strengths. Unfortunately, this one was turning into one of those long ones. The man and he used that term loosely, had managed to dodge, block or parry every blow. It was doubly annoying that he couldn't put enough space between the two of them to pull off any of his Jutsu's.

Staring at a glance over at Naruto he had to admit though that he probably had gotten the better part of the deal. Naruto had made it close to the wall before being intercepted and judging by the amount of noise and craters the two of them had made together, they were having a great time. At least that had been something that had gone right. He was pretty sure these two were twins so separating the two of them was probably a good idea.

"I've had enough of this!" The man who looked more like a demon shouted dodging towards him. He wasn't exactly sure what happened but his attacker's body seemed to dissolve into a mist and before he could pull away it touched his skin melding into it. He pulled his arm back but it was no use within a second the man seemed to disappear into his body. It was strange he hadn't really felt anything and he wondered what exactly was going to happen next.

"You're pretty relaxed for someone who's about to die," the voice had came from right beside his ear. Glancing over he saw the man's head sticking out of his shoulder.

"What the," Otonashi cut himself off trying to figure out how this had happened.

The man cocked his head his horn threatening to poke Otonashi eye out. "It's not a Genjutsu. You see I have an interesting ability. I can merge with another person and destroy them cell by cell and there's nothing you can do about it. You see your chakra circulatory system goes to every organ every cell and even…"

"I get it. I am a Medical-Nin and you just gave me the best news I've heard all day." That was partly a stretch Otonashi wasn't a medical ninja yet but, he did know how to get rid of a parasite. Grinning he thrust his special kenai into his thigh.

His parasite grunted in pain and hissed out, "You don't seem to understand. If I die you die." The man paused and he seemed to go pale which was interesting because his skin was a bright red.

"You see I have a fondness for poisons," Otonashi started feeling a bit woozy himself. "They're very interesting because they are so diverse. Some kill instantly and others well you can build an immunity of sorts if you inject yourself with small doses. Like I did with the rock snakes venom I just injected into my body. Of course, my body has the immunity yours doesn't."

The man started screaming and Otonashi was grateful when the man fazed out of him and collapsed to the ground. His ears were ringing from all the screaming and he staggered forward several steps feeling a bit dizzy. The poison did not have the same affect on him but, such a large dose was going to affect him a little. "Relax it won't kill you but, you might wish it had."

"Ukon!" The shout had come from where Naruto had been fighting and he looked over just in time to see the man's twin running towards him. He had made a fatal mistake by turning his back on Naruto who had already created several clones to seize the opportunity. Two of them ran up the wall creating a Jutsu that he was all too familiar with and once the spinning ball of chakra was ready he jumped hitting his opponent dead on. The resulting explosion created a large crater. It was a bit too flashy for Otonashi taste but, whatever worked.

His world spun and he fell to his knee. Maybe that other guy had gotten the better part of the deal. At least he had been able to pass out. "You okay?" He looked up to see Naruto standing over him.

"Yeah but, I'm done for the day. Go help Sasuke." Naruto nodded and then he popped out of existence and Otonashi realized he'd just been talking to a clone.


	7. Orders

Naruto's fight with the one horned man had done a lot to calm him down. In fact he was feeling guilty that he could not even give the man a name. In the end though he had been an enemy attacking his home and he didn't regret reducing him to paste. Now he stood at the base of the strange gate having just fallen on his head. For whatever reason he couldn't grip the surface with his chakra which meant he would have to climb but, then he thought of a faster way.

Backing up he summoned a dozen clones and ordered them to create a human ramp, holding one back to aid with the creation of his Rasengan. That done he started running up the ramp Rasengan in his hand prepared to make a surprise entrance. It was harder than he expected. There was a lot of squirming and even a yelp of pain.

Reaching the top he jumped clearing the roof. On his way down here he had time to observe the battle in progress. Sasuke and a silver-haired man were fighting sword to kunai. Recognizing the traitor Kabuto he angled his body so that he would hit the man on his way down with the Rasengan.

Right before he hit Kabuto jumped back but, his arm seemed to be caught in midair and the Rasengan clipped it as he slammed into the roof sending tiles and wood splinters flying. He felt a metal wire slice across his cheek but, he hardly felt it. Jumping out of the crater he stood next to Sasuke and stared at his opponent.

Kabuto held his arm a light green aura surrounding his hand healing himself. As they watched he stopped the bleeding and then he passed his hand over his shoulder. The grimace on his face lessoned as he found some relief. "I'm not in any condition to take both of you on right now. Fortunately, I signed the contract with Rashoumon."

Naruto blinked not understanding what Kabuto was talking about. Then the ground disappeared from under him in a puff of smoke and he was freefalling. He was not the greatest tactician but, Naruto could think on his feet. Before either Sasuke or he could hit the ground they landed on a pile of doppelgangers. Untangling himself from a sea of identical arms and legs he was about to jump off the wall to continue the chase when Sasuke stopped.

"We can't leave the village now."

"What! We can't let him get away. He's a traitor he he," Naruto was tripping over his words unable to articulate his thoughts through his anger.

"He won't get away," Sasuke said calmly. He bit his thumb and slammed his hand on the ground. There was a puff of smoke and Naruto's eyes widened at what he saw. There were two dogs one was large and black with a spiked collar the other was Pakkun who sat calmly on the other dogs head.

"Oh, It's you," Pakkun said looking at Sasuke.

"You know Kabuto's scent right?" Both nodded which almost caused Pakkun to fall off the larger dogs head. "I want you to follow him at a distance. If he strays more than three miles in either direction from where he entered the forest report to Anko. She should be about five miles away from here. Make sure to tell her that he is injured."

"Understood but, now that you have summoned us in battle you know the price you must pay right?" Pakkun's tone was serious as Sasuke nodded solemnly. "Good. Make sure you get the shampoo I like from Kakashi," with that last comment the two dogs disappeared over the side of the wall.

Naruto opened his mouth to comment but, the words died in his mouth as Sasuke shot him a glare. Instead he asked, "How did you know about Anko?"

"They've set up a picket line in their path of retreat. The purpose of that is to pick off any high-value targets as they retreat. She's the one who will take them down and Kado's team is one of those in charge of spotting them."

Naruto couldn't be sure but, he thought Sasuke might actually be concerned about the illegitimate member of his family. Attempting to get his mind off the subject he said, "That was a neat trick catching his arm with the wire without him noticing."

"Yeah, I figured you would make some sort of flashy entrance."

"So what should we do now?"

Sasuke shrugged, "I've been listening to some of the status reports. Most of the fighting is over with but there's still some resistance. So we should find the enemy and engaged them."

Naruto snorted, he needed a Chunin to tell him that.

* * *

"This sucks," Konohamaru announced to know one in particular.

"Would you shut up already. Nobody wants to be here," Hoshiko snapped.

Kado glanced over at the two as they started to bicker. Technically they were on a mission but, it wasn't like there was much to do. With the exception of Ranmaru there was virtually nothing for them to do except watch his back. Unlike the Byakugan which could see in a three hundred and sixty degree arc, Ranmaru only could see what was in front of him.

The advantage he had over that noble's family Kekkei Genkai was twofold. First he could see through any object at any distance. The second advantage was the simple fact that he could see the actual person rather than their chakra system. Kado sometimes wondered if there was more to it but, he wasn't a spy.

Ranmaru's unique gift was why they were in the line of retreat for the Sound's forces. His mission had ended up encompassing two genin was to spot high-value targets as they retreated. They would relay any high-value targets position to Anko who would move to intercept. The only chance of the six of them seeing any action today was if they could find an individual to ambush and so far Ranmaru had only seen one high-value target and a group of four ninjas.

"Hey, Moegi if those two went at it, which one do you think would win?" He asked glancing over at her. She was leaning against a tree and smiled weakly as she watched the argument unfold without looking like she was.

"Point why," she began slowly. "Hoshiko would win but, Konohamaru would keep getting up so he would win in the end."

"Yeah," he had to agree with her assessment and it wasn't just because he had been friends with Konohamaru for years. True Konohamaru had gone out of his way to befriend him when he first arrived in the village but, he also done the same thing for Ranmaru and Hoshiko with mixed results.

No, there was something about Konohamaru that refused to let him give up and it was sort of infectious. Kado was pretty sure that if it wasn't for him he wouldn't have tried to graduate early. He would've liked to have been on Konohamaru team but, breaking up the original trio would have been unnatural.

Ranmaru had been quietly staring off into the distance when he suddenly started flipping through the photos in his hand. "You see someone?" He tried to look over his shoulder without crowding the smaller boy.

He stopped shuffling when he came across a gray-haired man. "Yakushi Kabuto, the second in command," Ranmaru read the small biography out loud before looking back up. "He should pass within a hundred yards of our position in about ten minutes."

Kado's hand paused as he was about to transmit the information. "You can't give a better estimate than that?"

Ranmaru frowned into the distance, "he's hurt. One of his arms is hurt and I don't think he can use it. Every few steps he stops to heal it."

He waited for more information but, Ranmaru didn't add anything. Sighing he clicked on the radio. "Sensei," there was a hissed a static and then the sounds of battle.

"Not now. She's a Genjutsu user and there a bitch to kill." Then the radio clicked off and all he could hear was his own breathing.

"She can't intercept?" He nodded an affirmative to Hoshiko's question.

Konohamaru had drifted over ease dropping in on the conversation "How badly is he hurt?"

"He's moving slowly and keeps healing himself. I'm sure he can use his one arm," Ranmaru answered.

Kado had been friends with Konohamaru for years and during that time they had done some pretty stupid things together. Like when they had tried to sneak an early look at the list of teams that had been located in the Hokage office at the time. Konohamaru had the same expression on his face then he did now. "No."

"You haven't even heard my idea yet," Konohamaru said a familiar grin spreading across his face.

"You want us to ambush him and that's insane." Kado said emphasizing every word.

"Our orders allow us to 'engage any individuals as they are retreating." Konohamaru quoted.

"They meant we could fight chunin and that would take all six of us. If this guy is a second in command of a village he's way above us."

"If he is hurt half as bad as Ranmaru says then this could be an opportunity of a lifetime."

Kado eyes flashed from Konohamaru to Hoshiko as she spoke. He thought about calling their Sensei but, she turned off her radio. As Genin they were all the same rank and none of them could pull seniority on the others so that meant either Konohamaru or Hoshiko would suggest putting the decision to a vote.

He glanced over to Moegi, her body language told him she was nervous but, she wouldn't go against Konohamaru. Ranmaru wouldn't care so that left Udon. He was the one person that could normally talk Konohamaru out of doing anything too reckless. Once he glanced over at him though he lost all hope. In the end Udon was just like him a follower not a leader. He had counted the votes just like he was and their side was coming up short. "Fine but I'm coming up with the plan."

* * *

Kabuto glanced down at his arm or at least what was left of it. He had managed to stop most of the bleeding but, it kept reopening. Overall he judged that the arm was a total loss. It may have only been a glancing blow but, the Rasengan was a deadly technique and unlike the last time he'd been hit with it he had no time to prepare. This time it had torn through muscle with ease and he was pretty sure some of the bone was gone too.

Replacing a limb was considerably more difficult than an eye but, fortunately he had numerous not so willing volunteers. Finding a match would take some time but, until then he'd be at considerable disadvantage. His jutsu repertoire had been severely reduced and he had always favored his right arm.

At least he wasn't suffering from pain. Numbing his arm from the shoulder down had been easy. The other spot that the Rasengan had only brushed against still hurt and was also slowing him down. He paused to down another pill and heal what he could before continuing through the woods ripping his shirt to make a makeshift sling.

Abruptly he was surrounded by mist and for the first time in his life he swore. He couldn't afford a fight right now. His best estimate was that he was at a little above fifty percent of his normal fighting ability. If he wanted to get out of this alive he'd have to make this quick. Fortunately he did have one secret technique. As an accomplished Medical-Nin he was capable of not only using his own chakra to heal patients but, he was also capable of using his patient's chakra to heal them. A side benefit of this was he had discovered and developed a sort of sixth sense that allowed him to sense others.

Taking a step back he closed his eyes and felt for the telltale presence of a chakra system but, there was nothing. That didn't make any sense the Hidden Mist Technique was meant to conceal somebody's presence as they struck at close range. It negated any long-range attack by simply obscuring his location. True the mist wasn't as thick as the other times he had seen it so, did that mean this was meant only to delay him? Were they trying to set up an ambush further ahead?

Opening his eyes he noticed something odd for the first time. In the mist there were little red particles like fireflies in the night. At that moment he heard more than sensed somebody lunging at him from behind. Pivoting he swung his leg up and across catching the person in mid-air. The person was a lot smaller and lighter than he thought they would be. As he hit her she flew into a nearby tree cracking her head with an audible sound. At the very moment of impact the ground erupted from beneath him. It was impossible to move and he felt a kunai cut across the back of his knee severing the tendons.

Pain shut up his leg and he collapsed having enough forethought to fall on the offending arm breaking it. He couldn't numb his leg like he had done with his arm but, he could numb his nerves enough to stand. Rolling to his feet he jumped to a nearby tree no longer trusting the ground. As soon as he landed on the branch shuriken started to wrap wires around him.

Creating a chakra scalpel with his one good arm he sliced his way free. It was then he caught his first break. A kunai with an exploding note wrapped around it hit the trunk where he would've been, it was child's play to trace its trajectory back to the source and respond with his own kunai. Jumping away from the tree as it exploded he had to admire their teamwork. The person who had thrown that kunai couldn't have seen him which meant that had the whole thing was set up before hand.

Landing on the ground he rolled to protect his injured leg. Before he could fully stand another enemy had jumped from the trees trying to hit him with an ax kick. Blocking the kick as it came down he got his first look at his opponent's. He wore glasses similar to his own but the biggest surprise was his age. The kid couldn't be in his teens yet. How were they hiding their presence so effectively?

Unnoticed a fifth opponent had slit in from the side and with one quick thrust he pinned his foot to the ground with a kunai. Both of his opponents withdrew quickly leaving him pinned to the ground. Kabuto twisted so that he could pull the kunai out but, as he did so he was hit three times. Two of the kunai were blocked by the light armor he wore but, the third hit him in his unprotected side right below his ribs. Those would not be what killed him. That was done by the simultaneous detonation of three exploding notes. His last thought was that he had been killed by children.


	8. Things Go Missing

Sakura Haruno was having a bad day. The actual fighting had been over with for hours but, the injuries had taken considerably longer to treat. Ordinarily she didn't work at the hospital but, they needed all of the medics today. Her first patient had been a teen around her age. He had a plain face that was pale from either blood loss or he had simply worn his ANBU mask for too long. She would remember that face although she couldn't place a name to it. The first patient you lost was supposed to be the hardest.

Still, she didn't feel as if she had failed him, it was more like she felt empty. Perhaps she was too tired to feel anything right now. The back of her mind provided the answer but, she was unable to face it right now. There had been nothing she could do for him and she had known it at the first glance.

Turning her mind to a more immediate matter she wondered if Ranmaru could keep his secret. His team, along with Konohamaru's had managed to kill the second-in-command of Otogakure and rumors about the battle were already flying. It was an impressive feat and was drawing a lot of attention to the two Genin teams. As unfair as it was she hoped that Konohamaru and Kado continued to get most of the credit.

That reminded her Ranmaru had done something surprising again. After their battle they had started treating their wounded as best as they could. Out of every one Moegi had been the one worst off. She had been unconscious and Ranmaru had knelt down next to her and promptly passed out.

This in itself would be weird but, when Moegi had arrived at the hospital the swelling around her brain had already started to go down and a small fracture in her skull had quickly healed. It would've been more surprising and if something similar hadn't happened with Raiga when they had first met Ranmaru. She would have to question him about it but, first she had to grab his file and that meant cutting through the waiting room.

"Sakura," the familiar voice of Naruto called as she crossed the room but it lacked its normal enthusiasm. Stepping in front of her he asked, "Where are they?"

Under the circumstances she could easily identify the "they" he was referring to. Naruto circle of friends was small and she could tell he wasn't going to be deterred from seeing them. "Follow me; they're all in the same room."

"All? I heard"

"They're being praised and yelled at depending on who's in the room at the time. One of their sensei even managed to do both simultaneously." She had tried for a joke but, Naruto didn't even glance over at her.

Stepping onto the elevator he asked as the door closed, "How bad are they hurt?"

Sakura had to remind herself that he didn't know their condition while she did. Starting with the least hurt she began, "Ranmaru is suffering from chakra exhaustion. Hoshiko took a kunai to the shoulder but, there's no serious damage. Konohamaru has a broken arm. We can speed up the healing but, not right now. Moegi had a concussion and was unconscious for a while but, she's fine now." She forced a smile and realized she had to look up to meet his eyes.

Naruto relaxed visibly apparently some of the stories going around were a lot worse than the truth. The elevator doors opened on the third floor and they stepped out. She pointed to one of the doors and told him to be quiet. "You're not coming in," Naruto asked.

"I've got to grab a file. I'll drop by in a few minutes." Stepping back onto the elevator she had to hide her giggle at Naruto's mother hen impression. It didn't really suit the goofball image she had of him but, Naruto had proven her wrong about so many things. He may not be the brightest but, he cared about his friends. Exiting the elevator she passed through the waiting room again.

"Do you work here?" A feminine voice demanded.

Sakura sighed not believing her luck or lack thereof. Turning to face the woman she forced a smile. The woman was a little taller than her but, was much older. A quick inspection revealed no Hitai-ate but, the man behind her had one prominently displayed on his forehead. "I'm helping out here today I might be able to help you."

"My daughter was brought to the hospital. I want to see her."

Sakura glanced over to the information desk which was currently unmanned. "If you give me her name I can tell you her status." Sakura said going around the desk hoping she wouldn't be delivering bad news.

"Moegi"

She felt a sense of relief that she wouldn't be the bearer of bad news. "Third floor room number 305 it's on your right when you step out of the elevator." The woman left before she had even finished talking leaving the man behind.

"I'm sorry she's very upset," the man supplied. "Thank you for your help," he finished with a weak smile.

Continuing on her way she went down the hallway and paused at a door with a sign that said, Records Authorized Personnel Only. Unlocking the door with a key she swung the door opened to reveal a staircase. Descending the staircase she found herself in a long hallway with a single door at the end. The old man who was a guard of sorts looked up from his book as a security camera focused on her.

Flashing today's hand sign she waited for the old man to unseal the door. She nodded her thanks as she passed him. She now stood in the room that Ranmaru had looked into only a few days ago. His medical file along with just about any unique non-clan ninja was kept in this room. For additional privacy and security the files were only numbered on the outside and she knew Ranmaru's by heart.

Opening one of the filing cabinets drawers she paused. The file wasn't there. Quickly checking the rest of the drawers she had to fight down growing panic. It simply wasn't here. Calming herself she left the room to talk to the old man. She vaguely hoped that somebody else had been in the room today.

The man looked up from his book as she closed the door behind her. "That was fast."

"Has anyone else been in here today?"

The man frowned at her response but, checked the record book. "No you're our first guest today. Is something wrong?"

Yes, something was very wrong Sakura thought.

* * *

Naruto paused before entering the room. He had only heard that Konohamaru's team was in the hospital after a fight. He hadn't stuck around to learn more. For some reason the image of Hinata had come to his mind and he hadn't been able to shake it. The idea that he might lose another precious person had shaken him. He couldn't even remember if he had paid for his meal at Ichiraku or not. Learning that their injuries were mild was simultaneously relieving and a little embarrassing.

Deciding he wanted to know how they finished off Kabuto he pushed open the door. The room had four beds two on each side and all were occupied. Kado and Udon both stood at the far end of the room eyes downcast. Naruto remembered that look from back in his Academy days when the good kids would get in trouble. "Hey, I hear you guys saw some action."

"Did you hear who we fought?" Konohamaru sat up in the bed his arm in a cast but, eyes bright looking forward to telling a story instead of listening to Naruto's.

Naruto moved towards Konohamaru's bed but, he saw Moegi and she looked so down that he had to say hi to her first. There was gauze wrapped around her head but, her hair was down hiding most of it. With her hair down she looked more mature and even kind of cute. He quickly banished that rather disturbing thought by picturing her as she looked at eight when they had first met. "How are you feeling?"

She gave him a weak smile and said, "I'm fine."

"So, how did this happen?"

"I was a distraction for Konohamaru. It worked just fine but, when he kicked me I hit my head against something and I don't remember anything after that."

At that moment the door flung open and a woman stepped in and looked frantically around. She spotted Moegi and headed straight for her wrapping her in an enthusiastic hug.

"Mom," Moegi said trying to push her away.

A man followed the woman in saying, "Ai get a hold of yourself you're embarrassing her,"

"I knew something like this was going to happen. I should have never let her go to that damn Academy." She turned to face the man but, when she caught sight of Naruto for the first time she hissed, "You."

Naruto had stepped back and watched the little family drama unfold. He was trying not to laugh as Moegi's face turned several progressively darker shades of crimson. When the woman turned her attention to him he saw something he hadn't seen in years. He didn't remember when people had stopped looking at him with hatred but, it had been years. The words were the same though he hadn't heard them in years, "stay away from my daughter." He left the room without saying a word feeling like he was seven again.

The elevator was too slow so he used the stairs jumping from landing to landing. He wasn't sure where he was going but, he didn't want to stay here. Leaving the hospital he took to the roofs deciding to go to the training fields so that he could reduce something to very small pieces. Halfway to his destination the persistent calling of his name stopped him and he turned to face the unfamiliar voice.

It was the man from the hospital room presumably Moegi's father. "Please allow me to apologize for my wife's behavior earlier. She isn't a ninja and has been very worried about our daughter ever since she's graduated. Today her worst fears came true but, she had no right to say that."

The man bowed and Naruto found himself in a unique position. He was sure that it had happen before but, he couldn't remember when somebody had apologized to him. "Um, it's okay?"

"Thank you." Straightening he smiled. "Ai isn't normally like that but, these last few months have been rough on her."

"I guess it's hard on civilians." Naruto actually had no idea what he was saying but, it seemed like the right thing to say.

"Yeah, she's not even originally from the village so it's kind of like a different world to her. Before we married I made a promise that none of our children would become ninjas. With our first daughter that was an easy promise to keep but, Moegi has always been different."

Naruto tried to remember if Moegi ever mentioned her sister before but, he came up blank. "Moegi has a sister?"

"She never mentioned her? That's not really surprising they don't exactly get along. She's about your age and the two of them are actually a lot alike in some way but, total opposites in others."

"What do you mean?"

"They're both kind of shy and quiet but, I don't think she ever thought about choosing a career as a ninja. I think Moegi was four when she asked me how to throw a Kunai and she was five when she told me she was going to be a ninja. Her mother wasn't happy but, Moegi can be stubborn. I will admit though, when she first told me she'd make friends with you I wasn't happy."

"Why?" Naruto asked a tinge of his anger coming back as he remembered why so many of the villagers had hated him.

"Well you did do all those pranks and then there was that scroll you stole. I wasn't sure you'd be the best influence on her but, I was wrong."

"You're sure that it wasn't the demon that's inside me." Naruto's eyes widened almost as much as the other man's did. He hadn't intended to say that it just sort of had come out.

Moegi's father shifted uncomfortably. "I guess it's no surprise you know but, the Third's Law is still technically in effect."

"I won't tell anyone."

"Yeah, okay it was a factor at first but," he trailed off.

"But," Naruto prompted.

"But a demon wouldn't play with a kid. After that I reconsidered my opinion of you." Silence descended over the two of them until it was broken a minute later. "I should head back to the hospital. When I left Moegi she was yelling at her mother for talking to you like that and that probably won't end well." He went to leave but, turned back. "Maybe we'll work together sometime I've heard a lot of good things about you and not all from Moegi."

Naruto gave a weak wave not knowing how to feel. He had worked hard to gain respect and he guessed he had succeeded in some ways. The fact that there were still people like Moegi's mother who could look at him and think of that thing hurt. It hurt a lot.

A half remembered comment from years ago came back to him. There were always people who didn't respect the village's leader but, he refused to accept that. He would prove to everyone that he should be respected. Then he laughed remembering what Moegi's father said changed his opinion.

* * *

Tsunade was not happy. Someone had broken into a secure facility and stolen a single file during the attack. In order to do so they had to bypass three different security measures. At first she had hoped that it might have been the two missing infiltrators but, that seemed increasingly unlikely. Whoever did it needed inside help. The men and women who normally guarded the door were generally close to retiring ninjas of little note. Someone and she intended to find out who had ordered the guard pulled during the attack leaving only the cameras and a seal as protection.

The cameras themselves hadn't been tampered with but, the VHS tapes had been. The normal procedure had the tapes destroyed every two weeks to prevent a useless pile of tapes from being stored. This procedure was a pretty low priority and apparently somebody had stolen old tapes. When they had checked today's tapes they found that they had been recording over a previous day. More frustrating they had known about both cameras. The one in the hallway was easy to spot but, the hidden camera in the room was only known to a few people.

That left the seal itself as the only remaining security measure and she had no idea how they got past that. Supposedly the door could only be opened from the outside by one of the guard's specific chakra. So, unless there was a traitor in their ranks, it shouldn't be possible for anyone else to open the door from the outside. She found herself wishing Jiriaya would hurry back his expertise could come in handy right about now.

Deciding she couldn't figure how they had stolen it she concentrated on the why. The reason she had ordered Ranmaru's Kekkei Genkai classified was actually multi-layered. There were the Hyuga of course. A new Dojutsu would be something they would covet and Ranmaru was simply unprepared to handle that right now.

A little more lethal problem was the simple fact that he had spent a good portion of his life with a Missing-nin from Kirigakure and that could be enough for them to send a Hunter-nin after him. It was becoming increasingly harder to predict what the Mizukage would do in any particular event. The faith his people had in him had taken a hit when their village had been attacked. A civil war could break out because of the smallest incident or at least that's what some reports were saying.

There was a sharp knock at the door and she shouted, "Enter." The door opened and in walked two people she could have really done without seeing. "Homura, Koharu to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Koharu scowled managed to deepen as she took a seat. "We have remained silent as you forced us out of the decision-making process because, you have managed to make the right decision most of the time. However, your latest decision cannot stand without our input."

That made her raise an eyebrow. Overall she thought the counterattack had been handled perfectly. Casualties were low and they had managed to take out all of the lieutenants. "With respect," she said without meaning it. "The bulk of the attacking force was destroyed and"

"That is not the subject at hand," Homura interrupted. "We are referring to your decision not to accept Kumogakure's offered to attack Otogakure in a joint offensive."

Tsunade jaw clenched, they weren't supposed to know about that yet. "The decision is not up for debate."

"We are the Advisory Council you will allow us to advise you on this matter." The elderly woman snapped.

Trying not to show her frustration she said, "Continue."

"Sound has been dealt a devastating blow. Most of their leadership is dead and a portion of their force has been destroyed. If we do not strike soon Sound will have time to rebuild their strength and become a threat again. Another hidden village has offered us a temporary alliance of mutual benefit. It is foolish to pass it up. Especially, after they gave us vital information that contributed to today's victory."

Tsunade waited expecting more but, nothing was forthcoming. "You've overlooked two critical things. Kumogakure has never been a good ally, to anyone. I know Orochimaru better than anyone and he would sacrifice every person in Otogakure, if he thought it would help him achieve his goals. It is possible that these two villages have entered in an alliance of their own. Today's battle may have just been a setup so that we would trust Kumogakure. However, when we would attack Otogakure itself they would turn on us." The plan wasn't that farfetched and she was slightly surprised that these two wise elders hadn't thought of it.

"And what of the Kumogakure's ambassador? Did he not help us capture one of Orochimaru's lieutenants today? If he intended to betray us that would seem, dangerous don't you think? Would it not be better to make sure we didn't have prisoners to interrogate" Homura commented.

That was a good point she thought but, the man had died a few hours ago. Apparently he had a parasitical relationship with his brother and without another host he had simply exhausted himself. "I believe," Tsunade paused it was hard to refer to that boy as an ambassador, "Kumogakure representative believes everything he has said. That doesn't mean that it's true."

"It is possible to guarantee their offer is legitimate." Homura paused but, when she didn't rise to the bait he continued, "Hostages."

That was an interesting idea she thought but, there was a problem with it. "Kumogakure would never agree to it even if we could get enough important people to agree to be hostages. They would fear that we would betray them and try to control their village."

"That is why we should ask a third smaller village to host the hostages," Koharu answered.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and thought about that. As much as she hated to admit it, the idea did seem valid. "It might work but, there are a lot of problems that could pop up. I'll have to talk to the ambassador about it."

"That is all we ask," Koharu said as both of them rose to leave.

Even before they had left the room she was compiling a mental list of possible hostages. It was a lot harder than it would seem but, one person jumped out immediately although she didn't know their name. Lightning had no Kekkei Genkai to speak of so, they had compensated. Being the Jinchuriki for the two-tailed demon cat was not the worst thing that could happen to somebody in that village.

Unfortunately, the last Jinchuriki had been one of those killed during the samurai trouble. The new Jinchuriki couldn't even be a toddler yet. They would have to confirm that a demon was in the child but, since it was going to be their future trump card they wouldn't risk the child. A knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts, "What?"

Shizune poked her head around the door a bottle of sake in her hand. "You look like you could use a drink."

"What's wrong?" Shizune didn't like her to drink when she was in the office so something had to be wrong.

"Why don't you take a drink first?"

"Shizune tell me."

"We found out who gave the order to pull the guard. It came from you."

"So, they forged my signature. That's just one more law they broke."

"Well there is something else," she paused and Tsunade had to prompt her with a glare. "Nobody can find Danzou. He's been missing since the attack." Shizune winced as glass shattered. Turning she opened the door behind her and said, "Kotetsu, Izumo can you go get the Hokage's chair again."


	9. Recruiting

Hanabi paced the darkened corridors of the Hyuga compound. Any slight sound she made was drowned out by the pounding rain. Today she had participated in her first real battle and she had not even seen the enemy. Her team had been assigned to the festival grounds and no one had penetrated that far. That fact didn't bother her though, they had just graduated from the Academy and no one could've been expecting much from them.

No, what was bothering her was more personal. After it became clear that she was going to get away with the unsupervised fight she began to wonder about it. Her neck throbbed with a phantom pain reminding her that somebody had been able to get close enough to hit her without being seen. There was a certain level of embarrassment for a Hyuga to be knocked out like that.

Had she really been so inattentive that she'd miss somebody approaching her or was there something wrong with her Byakugan? It wasn't unheard of for Hyuga's to develop eye problems in their old age but, she was still young.

Normally she would ask her father about it but, then she would have to confess to the fight and her father's disapproval would be crushing. There really wasn't anyone else she could turn to unless she tried to talk to Neji. The pride of the branch family routinely trained with her father and was already a Jounin. Maybe he might know something and she did want answers. Assuming he would still be in the dojo because of the rain she headed in that direction trying not to think why she had memorized his schedule so well.

Moments later she was at the dojo and watching as her cousin moved through a kata. His back was turned to her. She wondered if she could ever be that perfect. There was a perfect economy to his movements and it was clear his muscles had memorized everything, it was beautiful to watch.

Feeling her face warm she told herself that she did not have a crush on her cousin. Hanabi frequently overheard snippets of conversations that compared herself to her older cousin. The comparison didn't really bother her as much as it probably should.

"Can I help you?"

Neji's words startled her. "I have a question. I was hoping you could answer it," she paused but, he just waited for her to continue. "Do you know of any Jutsu or anything that can interfere with the Byakugan?" She winced mentally, her question had sounded better in her head.

He cocked his head slightly appraising her, his expression unreadable. After a few seconds of silence he spoke slowly. "I have come across a few seals that can interfere with the Byakugan."

"What is that like?" She asked hoping it was something that simple.

"The image becomes blurred like a thick fog but, those take a very long time to set up and only a master in the art can do it," he paused hesitating on what he was going to say next. "Why are you curious all of a sudden?"

"I just don't want to be surprised by anything." She turned to hide her disappointment. She doubted Ranmaru was a master at seals and besides the image had not been blurry. She had never seen what hit her.

"Hanabi the Byakugan is only meant to be used during training or when a mission requires it."

She paused at the door. Her cousin's words were familiar. They were what Hyuga parents told their children so they wouldn't abuse their Kekkei Genkai. She rounded on him her anger flaring. "I am"

"There you are Hanabi I've been looking all over for you." The feeble voice of an elderly servant cut in breaking up the argument before it could start. "Your father would like to see you in his office."

For a moment she wavered. Half of her was still indignant that she had been treated like a child and the other half worried why her father was summoning her. Obedience to her father won out over her indignation and she left the room without another word. It was a short walk that required a flight of stairs to her father's office. Taking a moment to calm herself she knocked on the door.

"Enter Hanabi." Quietly slipping into the room she approached her father at his desk a file in his hand. "What I'm about to tell you does not leave this room. Understand?"

She nodded this wasn't the first time her father had told her this. The day after she had become a Genin her father had taught her how to activate the Caged Bird Seal. Another time she had been asked to sit in on a financial meeting. That one had almost bored her to tears but, it was just to prepare her to assume the leadership of the clan later. Her father activated his Byakugan as a caution against potential eavesdroppers. She thought this was odd considering they were safe within their home.

"I have recently received an unwanted gift and would like your opinion on it." He held up the file. "This file was left on my desk sometime in the last hour by somebody. The file is about an emerging Dojutsu in our village. Why do you think somebody would give us this?"

Hanabi considered the question for a minute. Clearly her father already had the answers and just wanted her to walk through the problem herself. "They either want our attention or want a favor from us."

"Most likely it's the latter. If you go far enough back in our history you will find that the Byakugan is the end result of combining several Kekkei Genkai and there is no reason to believe we've reached her peak ability." Her father paused to let that sink in before continuing, "What do you think they were telling me by the way they delivered the file to us?"

"That they don't want us to know who they are yet." She scoured her father's expression for any reaction as she spoke but, he was as inscrutable as the faces on the mountain.

"Possible but, more likely they wanted to show that there is already somebody in the household that is sympathetic to their cause. What do you know about a Genin named Ranmaru?"

Hanabi blinked at the non sequitur. Part of her wondered if this was a roundabout way of asking about the fight but, her father's expression remained blank. "Nothing really."

"He was in your class."

She flinched. Her parents were unaware of her lack of friends. "We moved in different circles." That wasn't technically a lie.

"Well I hope that can change. You see he is the one with the emerging Dojutsu. This file didn't tell us much about it but, I think we need to learn more. Consider this your first long-term mission. You are to befriend this boy and learn what you can about him. Do you understand?"

She nodded feeling numb. What her father was asking her to do seemed impossible to her.

"There is another small task I need you to carry out. Tomorrow is a mission day for you right?" He waited for her nod of acknowledgment. "Deliver this letter to the Hokage as slowly as you can."

After receiving the letter she was dismissed and for the rest of the night she was lost in her thoughts. At first she wondered if this Dojutsu of Ranmaru's might have been the reason she lost that little spar. Then she wondered how it would be possible for her to befriend anyone when her own teammates didn't seem to like her very much.

It wasn't until late at night that she remembered something her father had said. He said that someone was sympathetic to their cause but, what cause. It had seemed like an odd thing to say and he had immediately changed the subject afterwards. After a few minutes she pulled out the letter and examined it. It was sealed but, not with her families crest. It would be easy to open and reseal it again. However, she consoled herself with the simple belief that if she needed to know her father would have told her and with that she found peace.

* * *

Kado Uchiha sometimes wondered about his luck. He had been born with a gift but, had never known either of his parents. Then in a one in a million chance a blood relative had found him in his little hidden village. This was something he desperately wanted. Unfortunately, Sasuke wasn't exactly what he had been hoping for. Now he lived in a house that was larger than any building in his old village but, his room was also the former residence of a psychopath. Then there was today. His team had delivered a devastating blow to the enemy and all Sasuke could say was good job. Groaning he rolled over in his bed, that last one had been unfair. Maybe Sasuke would ask more about it tomorrow.

A single loud rap on his window caused his heart to skip a beat. Hesitantly sitting up and flipping on the lights he peeked out of the window frowning. Hoshiko his female teammate stood outside staring up at him. She was drenched from the rain but, it didn't seem to bother her. Opening the window he offered her a hand up so she could avoid using her wounded shoulder. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?"

Ignoring him she moved over to his hamper and using one of the shirts as a towel she muttered, "Didn't need to be there."

"So, they released you?"

She started ringing out her hair his abuse shirt collecting the drops as they hit the floor. "No, I just left."

"You can't do that! What if they send someone out to look for you?"

"That's why I'm here. They were going to release me in the morning anyway."

"But-"

"Kado. Drop it. I'm not going to spend one minute in that damn hospital if I can help it." She turned away and added, "I'm borrowing one of your shirts."

Hoshiko had spent her first year in Konoha in and out of the hospital receiving treatment for severe burns. Since he had been the only person left alive that knew her he had visited often. Now that he thought about it she had always seemed in a worse mood than normal when she was there. "Why do you-" he averted his eyes as she started undressing. "Do you have any modesty?"

"No. I am dumping these in the bathroom so they can dry."

When she came back he noticed with some relief that she had borrowed one of Sasuke's old shirts that was still too big for him. For a change though he could see some skin on her legs that wasn't scarred. "You can keep that."

"Can't it's got your family thing on the back," she said walking past him and climbing into his bed.

"Hey, that's mine." In a few years he would probably kill to have a half naked girl in his bed but, not now and never Hoshiko.

She rolled over to the side "it's big enough for two. Pretend we're on a mission."

Kado thought about throwing her out but that would be hazardous to his health. Then he considered going to one of the guest rooms but being chased out of his own room was really pathetic. "Move over more," switching the light off he wondered how he got into this mess.

Climbing into the bed he positioned himself so that their backs were to each other. It was strange at first, having another presence so close to him but once he synchronized his breathing with hers he felt sleep almost embracing him.

"If I show them nobody asks about them"

Hoshiko voice startled him awake "what."

"The scars, it's weird, if you tried to hide them and people see them they ask about them. So if you let everyone see them they don't ask. "

"Really?"

"That's what a nurse told me and she was right. Scars tell stories and it's not like I'm proud of these."

Kado briefly wondered if he could fake being asleep. This was not like Hoshiko and he was beginning to feel like he was in a field filled with traps. "Our village was attacked. There wasn't anything you could do-"

"I lied" she interrupted.

"Hum, what do you mean?"

"I said" she paused for a minute, "I said I was doing some survival training but really I just ran away. Everyone knew something was happening and they were nervous but no one knew what. They suspended our classes and my mom was ignoring me so I figured if I ran away she would have to come after me but, she didn't and then the village was attacked."

"There wasn't anything you could do," he had no idea what was going on here but it seemed like the right thing to say.

She didn't say anything for a long time and he was beginning to think she had fallen asleep when she suddenly sat up. "Did you hear that? There's somebody in your house."

Kado sighed and gave up on sleep for the moment. "It's probably just Sasuke he likes to walk around at night."

"No listen there's two of them."

That worried him for a minute but then he started to laugh. "Maybe he is trying to sneak Ino in."

"Why would he do that? No, I bet they're burglars you're rich and you got a lot of nice crap around here." Slipping out of the bed she moved over to his dresser where he kept his kunai holster. "Come on let's catch them."

The Uchiha compound had stood vacant for years and during that time it had neither been vandalized nor looted. Kado was ninety percent sure that it was Sasuke with somebody but, there was that ten percent that made him grab a loose kunai.

Taking the lead he paused at his door listening for any sound. Hearing nothing he drew up a mental map of the house. Sasuke's room was a few doors down from his so that would be his first stop. Slipping into the hallway he had scrapped the plan immediately.

Two men were coming up the hallway walking on the ceiling. Kado could hear his sensei voice in the back of his head saying, 'of course an intruder would do that, it was the easiest way to avoid nightingale floors'.

"Who are you?"

The lights flicked on and Sasuke stepped for around the corner at the end of Hall. "I would like to know that too." The light showed their Hitai-ate and a familiar symbol. Dropping into a defensive stance Kado activated his sharingan.

"Wait," the larger of the two said dropping from the ceiling "we didn't come here to fight." Glancing over at Kado for a second he turned to address Sasuke who was unarmed. "Orochimaru would like to extend an invitation to both of you-"

"Stuff it," Sasuke interrupted "I told Kabuto earlier that I'm not interested. Apparently the little one over there killed him before he could spread the word."

Both of the ninjas glanced at Kado causing him to blush slightly. Sasuke used the momentary distraction to charge. The distinctive sound of a Chidori filled the hallway tearing through the shoji screens and letting in the rain.

The men were faster. Throwing themselves through the same screens they disappeared into the darkness. Sasuke paused for a second making eye contact with him before disappearing through the same hole.

He followed a second later surprised at their speed.

Pausing on the veranda Kado took in the scene. Sasuke was fighting the smaller of the two. A moment later they disappeared over the roof in a blur of movement. The other man watched them with his eyes apparently forgetting about the younger of the two.

Pausing for a second he took a deep breath before releasing a Great Fireball. The fire evaporated the rain as it came in contact and even singed the soaked grass.

Kado sharingan picked up the movement for his peripheral vision just in time for him to cringe away from the blow. A hand struck the back of his head sending him flying into the mud several feet away.

Sliding to a stop he rolled to his knees wiping away from his eye. Vision blurry he tried to focus through the pain in his head. Suddenly he remembered Hoshiko she had still been in the room when he confronted the intruders so they wouldn't know about her and the enemies back was turned to the house.

At the moment he couldn't remember any of his Jutsu and his head was spinning and he couldn't stand. "Who are you?" He had to raise his voice to be heard over the storm although he didn't really care about the answer.

"I was supposed to make an offer to Sasuke and try to bring him back to Orochimaru. If you came it didn't matter but, if he didn't come willingly we were supposed to grab one of you." He started to advance "I think you'll be easier to carry."

Suddenly the man dodged to his right a kunai flying over his shoulder. Hoshiko was a second behind but she seemed to slip and almost slid to the man's feet. His sharingan caught the hand signs a second before the ground liquefied and the man sunk up to his knees.

"What the-" in his words were cut off as something smashed into his head and he fell backwards dead or unconscious.

"You two okay? Sasuke jumped down from the roof taking in the scene.

Hoshiko spun demanding "What did you do?"

"Roof Tile Shuriken, useful but were going to have a leak now."

"Hey, stop how do we know you're, you?" That questioned didn't sound right to Kado's ears but Hoshiko seemed to suddenly recognize the danger of a Transformation and drew a kunai.

Sasuke paused and glanced over at Hoshiko taking in her appearance. "I see you got over your objections to my proposal but" he smirked in a way only he could "you might be moving a little fast."

"It's Sasuke" Kado leaned forward suddenly feeling woozy. He barely heard Hoshiko's question.

"What's he talking about?"

* * *

Masakazu had once been a proud samurai. He had served his Lord well and when his Lord had declared war on the hidden villages his heart had leapt with joy. War would be his best chance to distinguish himself and bring honor to his family. He had been prepared to do anything but, that was only expected.

After he had missed out on the destruction of Moyagakure and the raid on Kirigakure he had thought his opportunity would never arrive. Then he had been assigned a mission. It had been disappointingly simple. All he had to do was guard the fishing fleet while his Lord's castle was besieged. The massive ships would have been used to transport the army later.

Unfortunately, his Lord had never managed to break the siege and every single one of his comrades had been slaughtered. When they had learned about the defeat they had been devastated. He was prepared to commit Seppuku and had even begun to write his death poem when the old commander had roused them with the familiar story of the Forty-Seven Ronin. Like them they had to avenge their Lord before they could die.

Inspired they had dispersed to wait and let their enemies lower their guard. Like their predecessors they hid among the civilians pretending not to be samurai and waiting for the sign to assemble. Masakazu wasn't sure what fifty-one samurai could do against the system of hidden villages but, that would not be his problem. He had found work at a small inn. It wasn't bad but, he didn't feel alive. His life had lost meaning and focus, he craved revenge.

The inn was on the outskirts of a city and its customers stayed out of necessity. He was barely able to contain his anger every time a ninja stayed the night. It was only mildly surprising to him when one of them gave him an ultimatum. He was to go to the shrine up the road at midnight or else. The fact that he had been found out didn't disturb him, it had always been a possibility. Although it was interesting that they were giving him time to prepare himself. They probably didn't want to cause a commotion when they killed him and that was fine.

Leaving the inn for what was probably the last time he touched the Tanto that he had concealed in his loose sleeves for reassurance. He had no intention of being taken alive and if he could he would take down an attacker or two. With a silent goodbye to the old man who had taken pity on him and gave him a job, he departed alone on the dirt road.

The air was heavy and the shadows seemed malevolent. Part of him expected an attack at any minute while the other part of his mind said that they wouldn't go through all this trouble just to kill him in the street. The small Shinto shrine was nothing special and it could have been any of a hundred that dotted the roads. There wasn't another building to be seen in the area and the grounds looked abandoned. Out of habit more than anything else he threw a coin in the offering box before going through the familiar ritual.

As if the bells ring had summoned him a voice spoke. "I have never found my prayers answered. Have you?"

The man's approach had been silent but, Masakazu turned slowly as if he had known he was there the entire time. His voice was quiet and definitely not that of the man's who had approached him earlier. When he got his first glimpse at him he was shocked. An old bandage covered most of his face and he only had one arm which held a cane.

The shock was short-lived. This was a ninja and they were simply demons in the disguise of men so there was no reason to believe this was his true form. "Sometimes," he answered.

"You are luckier than I." The man turned his gaze to something in the distance and for a moment he seemed to forget about Masakazu for a minute before speaking again. "You're already dead in spirit, if not in body."

The statement was true but, it elicited no reaction from Masakazu. Instead, he pondered if he could cover the three steps it would take to cut this man down before being killed himself. They appeared to be alone but shadows had eyes. "Is that all you've come to say?"

"I've come to offer you an opportunity."

"And why would I lower myself to accept anything that you have to offer," he took a single step forward closing the distance.

"Because, I can offer you a way to avenge your fallen Lord and give your life meaning again."

That brought him up short and for the first time he noticed that this man didn't wear a Hitai-ate. "Alright I'm listening."

"There are two individuals above everyone else that are responsible for the coalition that defeated your Lord. The first is the Raikage of Kumogakure and the second is the Hokage of Konohagakure. If these two had not worked together your Lord might very well be alive today." The old man paused and Masakazu found himself leaning closer as if he was being confided in. "I can arrange things so that you will be alone and within sword range of the Hokage."

"So you are a ninja." He couldn't help it, he laughed. "Why would I bother with the internal machinations of your village? Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and leave me in peace." Masakazu turned his back on the man but, made sure not to change the distance between the two of them.

"You misunderstand. You don't have a choice in the matter. If you don't agree you will die here and if you agree you will die after you kill the Hokage. Your fate is sealed. If you don't go along with our plans we will simply approach another one of your comrades. The only thing you can do now is take one of your enemies with you."

Turning as if he was going to shout a response he instead drew his weapon and within two steps he was upon the man. Swinging his weapon upwards his head exploded in pain. The next thing he knew he was on the ground his head ringing. When his vision cleared he saw two figures standing over him. One was the old man and the other wore a mask that vaguely looked like an animal.

"That was very dumb. Did you really think I would come alone?" The old man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper that he let flutter to the ground. "Be at that location in two days or we will kill you and any acquaintances you have made." The old man seemed to turn to leave but stopped and added. "And don't forget to bring that accursed weapon you keep under your floorboards. It's not in a particularly well hidden spot at least to us ninjas."

It took several minutes for Masakazu to regain enough sense to sit up and then he grinned to himself. They hadn't killed him and that meant something. They either didn't know of any of his comrades locations or didn't have the time to hunt them down. He put faith in the former. The only thing that connected him to his past was the thing under his floorboards. They must've found that somehow but, he was only one of three men who had those objects in his possession and none of the three knew anything about the rest of the group.

He would die soon no doubt but, in truth he had been dead for years. By all rights he should have died with his Lord on that day. It didn't matter now. Soon, he would be dead but he would not die as someone's fateful puppet.

* * *

Authors note: Wow this chapter got away from me. For the two of you who care I'm updating Assassins in the Snow next.


	10. Ties That Bind

* * *

If Naruto had to characterize his relationship with Konohamaru he would call him a little brother. So, when the little pest showed up at his door early in the morning with his arm still in a cast demanding to learn the rasengan he didn't complain. Well not too much. After all he had promised to teach it to him once he became a genin and he always kept his promises.

He still had some water balloons in his apartment from back when he still pulled pranks and after filling them he led his friend to the veranda. Naruto explained everything as best as he could and at least in his own opinion doing a better job than Jiraiya had. After that he let Konohamaru have at it and he sat back to watch. Occasionally he would drop a comment or shout encouragement.

After a while he became bored and started to toy with the idea of sending a clone out to collect some leaves. Kakashi had shown him how to cut a leaf with his chakra last night and had explained if a bit vaguely why it was the next stage in his training. Then a thought occurred to him. He discovered that he would learn anything his clones learned a few years ago. Maybe he could use that to speed up his training. A hundred clones cutting a hundred leaves. He could learn it a hundred times faster.

A sharp cry yanked him out of his thoughts and he was just in time to see Konohamaru tumble backwards cracking his head against the railing. Naruto was at his side in the second, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine I'm fine," Konohamaru said waving him off before he felt the back of his head. "I think I almost had it that time."

"No," Naruto said looking around for the remnants of the balloon. Finding a large piece he showed it to Konohamaru. "See when you do it right there shouldn't be any of this left. You have to remember to rotate in all different directions so it looks like a spiked ball before it pops."

Konohamaru nodded dejectedly and asked, "How long did it take you to do this?"

Naruto thought for a minute, "Well it took me about a month to learn the whole thing but, you're making great progress for your first day," he smiled and added, "of course that's because I'm such a great sensei."

Konohamaru smiled weakly, "Well great sensei I'm hungry so I'm taking a break."

Naruto glanced at the clock, "Ichiraku should be open by now. Come on I will treat you," he turned to leave but Konohamaru didn't follow. Turning back he saw Konohamaru hadn't moved and was staring out at the village. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering about yesterday." Glancing over at him Konohamaru asked, "Why did Moegi's mom get so angry with you? I mean she's always so nice."

Naruto froze feeling sweat break out on his brow. He had known fear before but those times somebody had been trying to kill him. He shook himself this was Konohamaru his friend someone he thought of as a little brother. Still, he thought about lying to him but, he didn't want start lying to them now.

He quietly walked back to the veranda. It felt like the building was shaking beneath his feet. Sliding down across from Konohamaru he met his curious gaze. Not knowing what he was going to say. After a minute he licked his lips and started in a quiet town. "Konohamaru the night I was born the Kyuubi was attacking Konoha. They couldn't kill the Kyuubi but they were able to seal it. They needed a baby and I was it."

He met his friend's eyes who cocked his head thinking. After a long minute of silence Konohamaru spoke. "Okay but, why was Moegi's mom upset with you?"

Naruto's vision blurred and he quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Konohamaru," he said with all seriousness "I'm buying you a Hokage size portion for whatever you want."

* * *

When Tsunade first became Hokage she wondered why mission hall where she would dispatch teams for clients and the office where she worked in and dispatched ninjas for the village were so far apart. It took her months to realize that it wasn't a design flaw. On an average day she had to walk there and back at least twice a day even when things were hectic like they were now. The walks functioned as a forced break in the day. For a few minutes there were no reports to be read and no paperwork to be done.

Unfortunately, this blissful state of existence came to a premature end as she saw Morino Ibiki waiting outside of her office. "Tell me you have good news," she had assigned him the task of interrogating the surviving intruder that Sasuke had caught last night.

Ibiki peeled himself away from the wall his face expressionless, "The information is intriguing."

Tsunade led him into her office almost groaning when she saw that her daily paperwork had already been delivered. Taking a seat behind her desk she gestured for him to continue.

Ibiki handed her a single piece of paper which was short for one of his reports. "Before the subject regained consciousness, I conducted a thorough search through the bingo books both our own and ones we've obtained from other villages. The man appeared in none of them. However, a medical examination did reveal that a seal had been applied to him. Upon closer inspection it was revealed that it was the seal used exclusively by the Ishi clan."

That clan sounded familiar to her but, it took her a minute to remember. They were from Iwa. There kekkei genkai allowed them to turn any part of their body into stone instantaneously. Well that might explain Kado's concussion. Then she remembered the details of the seal. Like the Hyuga's seal it could kill but, it also had a suicide feature. She remembered finding that out during the war. "They may not have put a bounty on him in fear that a village might try to recruit him."

Ibiki shook his head, "It's possible but in my opinion it's not what happened. You see there is no record of an Ishi either defecting or even being successfully interrogated. Once I learned that I intended to keep him at a low level of consciousness in hopes he would not activate his seal but I was unsuccessful."

Tsunade nodded not surprised. During the war her team had ambushed a group of ninjas from Iwagakure. They had managed to capture several alive but, when they attempted to interrogate the leader he had slumped forward blood pouring from his ears. It was the first and only time she had ever met an Ishi but, the casual disregard for one's own life had always stuck with her. "I suppose you don't think he could've been the first to defect then?" She already knew the answer.

"If he was a defector he would've probably tried to cut a deal. Even considering that Orochimaru does manage to inspire loyalty, I don't think that was the case this time."

She dismissed him with a nod not bothering to tell him to keep this classified. He was already on the short list of people she trusted implicitly. There were advantages to having helped deliver some of her subordinates. Slowly turning around in her chair she wondered if Iwa was the reason that her former teammate seem to have inexhaustible resources.

It made sense but, why would Iwa sacrifice their own ninja to fight a proxy war. Even considering they only seem to be lending out low-level ninjas their supply would not be infinite. They probably intend to use Oto's war with them to weaken Konoha and then smash her village with one blow. Iwa must have thought that Konoha would be a lot weaker after that little raid if they had risked somebody who could tie them so directly to their village.

Well at least this seemed to put Kumo in the clear. Having three villages in a conspiracy against them stretched credulity. Especially when Iwa and Kumo were involved, they had no desire to share a border. Turning her mind away from that now she wondered if Jiraiya was going to get back soon. She needed him to check out the seal for the record room. It still angered her that somebody would steal a medical record.

A knock followed by the door opening pulled her out of her thoughts. Shizune walked in holding a letter in her hand, "I was filing the reports we received this morning when I noticed this letter was mixed up with them. I thought about opening it but figured it was meant for you."

After taking the letter Tsunade held it up to the light not really expecting to see anything suspicious. Turning it over she saw that it was sealed with a drop of wax which made it seem formal but, there was no crest. Splitting the wax with a fingernail she pulled the letter out and quickly reading the brief message a grimace crossed her face.

"Is it that bad," Shizune asked not attempting to hide her concern.

She hesitated answering and decided to summarize. "The missing file is at the Hyuga estate. Hiashi claims that the file was placed in his office in an attempt to discredit him and his family. Furthermore he would like to return it immediately but subtly. Of course, he has not looked at the file."

There was a long pause before her assistant spoke, "And you don't believe him?"

"I believe him up to a point. He probably received the file unbidden but, I'm sure he read it. As for the claim that somebody is trying to discredit his clan I doubt it." She hesitated for a second wondering how much she should confide in Shizune but, if she did it now it would save time later. "No, I think somebody just tried to bribe him."

"With all respect," Shizune interjected with a nervous smile, "that isn't much of a bribe."

"Not the information itself but, you have to remember how they would see it. We were keeping an emerging dojutsu from them. Now we're not obligated to tell them but the Hyuga could still feel slighted." She didn't add that she could no longer trust the Hyuga implicitly. The way Hiashi had handled the situation said that he was loyal to Konoha but she shouldn't expect him to stick his neck out for her. "Assemble your old team I'm assigning you an S ranked mission."

"Yes immediately," Shizune turned to leave but paused, "Genma has taken on a genin team. Do you want to pull him off that duty?"

Tsunade winced at her forgetfulness. Now that she thought about it Genma had a Hyuga on his team. She cast around in her mind for somebody she trusted that was up for the mission. "No, let him stay where he is. Kakashi can take his place and one more thing. Send a message to Sakura I want to see her today."

Alone in her office she pondered the new information. Perhaps the Hyuga had stolen the file but, it seemed unlikely. They didn't have the right people in the right positions and when the file had been stolen they could all easily be accounted for. Danzo was a more likely culprit or at least his organization especially since he disappeared around the same time the file had.

If he had stolen the file or ordered it stolen and then had given it to the Hyuga that was treason. She didn't even consider the ramifications of why he wanted to give it to the Hyuga clan. It was starting to look like he was preparing to assassinate her and was paying influential people to look the other way. For a brief moment she wondered about the other clans in the village but, quickly dismissed the paranoid thought. The last thing she needed to do was start jumping at shadows. Right now she had enough information to at the very least throw Danzo to Ibiki for a while. If he resisted the team she was sending after him was more than capable of eliminating him.

* * *

Sasuke did not like the hospital. Not that he liked much of anything but, after last night he was hesitant to leave Kado alone even if there was an ANBU posted at the door. He would've preferred to have him recuperate at home but the doctors were refusing to release him.

If there were in the Uchiha district he could've stopped the near constant stream of visitors. There had been his team which was a given but then that loud kid who reminded him of Naruto and his quiet friend had drifted in late in the day. It had become rather loud which probably wasn't good for Kado's concussion.

It still angered him that anyone had dared attack his home. It brought back memories of broken bodies and of a night he would never forget. Not for the first time he wondered if moving back into his old home had been the right decision. It had been a statement to himself that he would concentrate on rebuilding his clan but, his brother still lived. Sometimes he felt compelled to walk the grounds remembering what had happened.

Those walks made him wonder how close he was to killing his brother. Sometimes he felt so close almost as if he could just reach out and grab him at other times he still felt like he was eight years old. At times like that he hated Kado. He hated him because he didn't care about Itachi and had even once said he didn't want Sasuke to go after him. Why didn't he understand? In his more introspective moments he could answer that question.

The sound of the door opening pulled him out of his thoughts and his hand went to his sword hilt preparing to draw. He had frightened more than one nurse but a quick apology was preferable to not being prepared.

A blond head poked in and he immediately relaxed. Ino glanced over at the bed and saw him sitting in the chair next to it. A small smile crossed her lips as she moved towards them. "How is he?" She spoke in a whisper trying not to wake Kado.

"He's fine," glancing over at the sleeping boy he added, "it's only a concussion and not even that severe."

"So, why is he in here than?" She perched herself on one of his armrests.

Normally he would be annoyed when somebody invaded his personal space but, it wasn't so bad when she did it. "I think they want to keep him under guard until they know the coast is clear. This way they only have to sacrifice one ANBU to guard the door while at the compound they would need at least one team."

"And even with a guard at the door you stay right by his side. You're dedicated."

Was she being sarcastic, he couldn't tell. Wanting to avoid an argument or worse a discussion about his relationship with Kado he changed the subject. "He helped you learn that move you used on me."

She giggled softly, "Yeah, it took most of the month you were gone but it works. I'll admit it is strange learning from a kid but, now I can beat you every time."

"Learning the shadow step is a lot easier when you have a sharingan user to practice against. If you can trick our eyes you can pretty much trick anyone's but, don't get cocky. It worked on me once because I wasn't expecting it but now I know what to look for and you have only learned the one series of movements."

"That's where you're wrong. You see I have found your weakness. You don't just use your sharingan you rely on them and I can trick them every time now. You'll see the next time we spar." She winked.

Sasuke blinked in shock, she was right. He always activated his sharingan when they practice kenjutsu together. When had he started doing that? He couldn't remember. It just seemed natural to use his kekkei genkai but, could she use it to her advantage now. Then he thought of Itachi.

For years he thought he would have to learn fine muscle control to trick the eye for every movement every technique but, might he be able to use it to kill like Ino had done against him. It was worth thinking about.

Ino was full of surprises he thought. When Kakashi had told him that another student would be joining him for kenjutsu training he had been less than thrilled. He had almost groaned when he had found out it was a former classmate. At first he couldn't really place her. She had been one of those annoying girls that had always bothered him at the Academy but, beyond that she hadn't stood out in his mind.

He didn't think she would last very long but she had thrown herself into the training. Soon they were scheduling times where they could train with each other. His sensei had even commented once that their development was remarkably fast. During their brief breaks they had started talking. It was never about anything important but he liked it and she hadn't been trying to get him to go out with her. Now that he looked back he had half suspected that the only reason she had wanted to train with the sword was to get to him. That was a little arrogant in hindsight.

"Ino, why did you want to learn kenjutsu?"

She looked down at him her face devoid of a smile. Glancing over at Kado again as if she wanted to make sure he was still out of it she answered. "My father died while he was on a recon mission during that trouble we had a few years ago. It hit me pretty hard. My dad and I weren't particularly close at least I don't think so but, it was the first time anyone I knew had died like that. I guess I kind of just looked at myself and was a bit disappointed at what I saw. I wasn't particularly strong and without either of my two teammates I was pretty useless.

"At first I tried to master my family's Jutsu but, I always had trouble learning from just reading and there wasn't anyone I could ask about them. Then I remembered some of the samurai I saw fight. They couldn't use chakra but they nearly beat us. So, I figured it might be worth a try. What about you Sasuke, why did you take up the sword?"

He shrugged, "Not counting last night my chidori has only missed its target twice. One of those was when we were fighting the samurai. I was charging one of them and he kind of just stuck his sword out. If I had continued I would've been impaled. I don't know who he was but he was a master with the sword and I barely managed to defeat him. I was impressed."

She snorted, "So, we both got inspired by the same thing." She paused for a minute, "So who was the first you missed with your chidori. I mean you can't mean that Gaara kid. You did hit him after all even if you couldn't get through all that sand."

"No it wasn't him. I don't want to talk about it."

Ino didn't push the subject further and he appreciated it. Itachi had been the first to survive his chidori unharmed. He had deflected it with ease and even years later it still bothered him. That was something he appreciated about Ino, she knew when not to push. He would never admit it but, Kado had been right. He was starting to like Ino.

* * *

Sakura had been to Ranmaru's apartment on several occasions. Which once she thought about it was a lot, he had only moved in a few months ago. On all those visits but one she had managed not to eat their though. He was actually a talented cook but he tended to have curry for dinner every night, which would be fine if it wasn't the special recipe that Sanshou had given them.

Now that recipe did have several unique qualities and might, if they manage to reduce it to pill form replace the soldier pills they use but, in its raw form it was an experience. Ice water was a requirement to have with it and even with that it was still a hard meal to swallow. Ranmaru could eat with virtual immunity but she was always left coughing.

Maybe if curry had given her the ability to walk like it had for Ranmaru she would have a different view on the meal but, even with his promise to tone it down she still wondered how much was socially acceptable to leave on a plate. She didn't want to hurt his feelings but, she didn't want to upset her stomach either. Although considering the news she was also planning on delivering tonight that might be the least of her problems.

Knocking on the door she was let in by Ranmaru. When he had invited her over for dinner he had literally meant dinner. The table was already set although the meal would require just a few more minutes. They chatted as he watched two pots and not for the first time she wondered if this was what was like to have a little brother.

Probably not she thought. The few people she did know with siblings didn't seem to get along with them all that well. She and Ranmaru were probably more like Naruto and Konohamaru.

The food was soon ready and she noticed that it was some sort of vegetable curry. Hers was a yellowish color which was different then Ranmaru's standard black which he was eating.

The meal was actually very good and she decided to wait until they finished eating to break her news although part of her realized that she knew she was just stalling. By the time they finished eating she knew she couldn't stall anymore. "I have some bad news that the Hokage asked me to tell you. It seems several days ago your private medical records were stolen." Ranmaru was not particularly expressive like Naruto but, it was pretty clear to her that he was worried.

"Does this mean," he paused swallowing and for a moment she had very violent fantasies about what she would do to the people responsible for the theft. "Does this mean," he started again "that I'm going to have to go through those tests again?"

Sakura couldn't help herself she laughed. Of all the things he should be worried about that would've been on the bottom of her list. "No you don't have to. We were able to find your file but, the Hyuga's know about you now. I'm sorry but you'll have to be really careful around them." She briefly wondered if he understood all the implications this implied. The birds and the bees were briefly covered at the Academy but, not in any real depth. Perhaps she should have a more in depth talk with him about it.

"They're the ones with the pale eyes right?"

"Yes," she answered. Part of her felt badly about scaring him about the Hyuga clan. The only one she'd ever really known was Hinata and while they hadn't been friends she had seemed nice if painfully shy the few times they had talked. Of course, individuals didn't matter when it came to clan politics or at least that's what she had been told.

"There was one in my class, she seemed sad."

The last comment caught her off guard. Occasionally Ranmaru would say something strange like that. Sometimes she thought he could see through people emotions as easily as he could see through objects. However, the rest of the time he was completely socially inept. "Well just be careful around her."

Ranmaru smiled up at her, "Don't worry I can deal with it."

For some reason his reassurance didn't comfort her. Most people in his position would just avoid anyone in the clan but, sometimes with Ranmaru two plus two could equal five. Sighing she ruffled his hair. "If you ever need help you know you can come to me right?"

He smiled and nodded.

* * *

Author's note: This chapter is a bit longer than usual so consider it an early holiday present. Happy holidays!

Spoiler warning back when I was writing The uprising I had the idea that Naruto was going to teach Konohamaru the rasengan. (It's in chapter 12)


	11. Accidents or Incidents?

"So you're team doesn't have training today?" Naruto asked Konohamaru as they searched for an empty training field.

"Not really. Moegi is still in the hospital and I can't even do a D-ranked mission with a broken arm. Ebisu sensei said I could still work on my Ninjutsu but, he's busy most of the time so I'm learning something from you," Konohamaru finished grinning up at him.

Naruto winced feeling a pain of guilt. He had intended to visit Moegi again but was afraid that her mother might've told her something. Although after Konohamaru's reaction to the news about his tenant, maybe it wasn't that big of a deal to some people. Still he didn't think he would start shouting it from the Hokage monument.

The small path they had been following suddenly opened up into a huge field surrounded by trees. "Alright here's a good spot. I have some training of my own to do so give a shout when you're ready for the next step."

Konohamaru looked a little crestfallen at his pronouncement but quickly recovered, "I'll be done by noon."

Naruto smiled before wishing him luck and headed over to the nearest tree. He had thought about his shadow clone idea a lot and decided that twenty would be a good number to start with. A few years ago he had used his clones to help dig a grave. They had existed for about thirty minutes which was way longer than usual for him. When he had dismissed them he had to sit down because of the unexpected flood of information. Still if it worked it would be well worth it.

A moment later there were twenty-one of him in the clearing and a branch was cleared of leaves. For the next two hours both of the boys trained with a diligence and single-mindedness that would have shocked any of their Academy instructors. Unfortunately, that was close to Naruto's breaking point.

Unfolding his hands he examined the leaf. It was starting to crinkle at the edges but even when he held it up to the sky he couldn't see the beginning of a tear. He let it fall to the ground. Looking up he noticed a willow tree at the other end of the field and wondered if the type of the leaf mattered. Probably not but he was getting annoyed. Besides the long thin leaves were calling to him and he figured it couldn't hurt.

He hated when he ran into these walls during training especially when he had no one to turn to for advice. The same thing had happened during his Rasengan training. Eventually he would get through it but it was just annoying in the meantime. At least he wasn't leaving Konohamaru to figure out all the little things like he had to.

Halfway to the tree he heard the distinctive pop of a clone disintegrating into the ether. Spinning he saw red chakra leaking from one of his clones and even as he watched it lashed out destroying two more. The other clones attack their demonic comrade but, it lashed out with fingers that had turned to claws.

The site froze him to the ground. Distantly he wondered if that was what he looked like when he tapped into the Kyuubi's power. Then the demonic clone turned its attention to the next closest living thing and that snapped him out of his stupor, "Konohamaru run!"

Instinctively he chased after the clone his hand reaching for a kunai but, his angle was bad. Naruto stood right behind the clone and Konohamaru was right in front of it. If he hit the clone with the kunai it would destroy it but, there was also a chance that it might continue on and hit Konohamaru. How tall was the kid again? He couldn't remember.

Risking a head shot he threw the kunai. It connected with the clone's head and it disintegrated into the ether. Half a second later another kunai pierced the still disbursing cloud of smoke.

Naruto had been trained from an early age for combat. In addition to his standard training he had been placed under the tutelage of what could be argued to be some of the best ninjas in Konoha's history and despite all that his coordination tended to abandon him at the worst times. He dodged the incoming kunai easy enough but tripped over his own feet. This caused him to stumble forward smashing into Konohamaru sending both of them sprawling.

Pain radiated from his elbow. He had hit his head against something hard probably Konohamaru's head. Climbing to his feet still holding his arm, he rushed over to his still sprawled out friend. "Are you okay?"

The younger genin sat up slowly adjusting his Hitai-ate, "Yeah, I'm fine." Naruto didn't think he sounded fine. His voice was distant and Naruto noticed that his hands were shaking. "Was that," Konohamaru left the question hanging.

"Just some of Kyuubi chakra," Naruto actually had no idea what just happened but that idea was as good as any other. Eyeing Konohamaru up and down, he paused noticing a dark spot on Konohamaru's pants.

The other genin eventually noticed where he was staring and shifted his body to cover it. "It's from the water balloons."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed but did not believing him.

After a few minutes he spoke again, "I'm going to go home and change."

"That's a good idea," Naruto answered helping him to his feet. As he started to walk away Naruto called out, "Wait a minute." He had a sudden memory from when he had been at the orphanage and a similar thing had happened. Taking off his jacket he tied it around his young protégé's waist.

"Thanks," Konohamaru whispered.

"No problem. Are you sure you can walk home okay?" Konohamaru nodded and turned slowly walking away.

Naruto bit his lip nervously. It was a habit he had abandoned even before he entered the Academy. However, as he watched Konohamaru's retreating back he worried that he might not see again and he wasn't sure he could handle that. He had come to think of him as a little brother. Occasionally annoying but always there and if he lost that connection because of the damn fox he wasn't sure he could handle it.

He felt the ground tremble beneath him and he spun around half hoping it was an attacker he could take his anger out on. Unfortunately, it was just a pervert riding a large toad.

Jiraiya took in the clearing before dismounting, "What happened here I thought I felt," he trailed off not needing to finish the sentence.

Naruto sighed before relating what had happen to the perverted Sannin. He seemed to take it all in stride although the fact that he had told Konohamaru about his tenant seemed to surprise him. After he described his clone theory Jiraiya went into his I'm thinking hard but not about women pose.

"The clone thing is not a bad idea," Jiraiya said stroking his chin. "Although, you should've run it past Kakashi or me before you tried it on your own. If you have someone standing by to destroy any Kyuubi influenced clones it should probably work."

"Kakashi sensei had to leave on a mission," Naruto interrupted him before he could give a lengthy explanation.

"Well if you help me I'll help you with your training."

That peaked Naruto's interest. "What do you need my help with?"

"It will be easier to show then tell and it might even be a good learning experience for you." Jiraiya turned and walked away without saying another word. Naruto followed reluctantly his mood still dark. The super pervert turned and added, "What are you doing teaching the rasengan anyways. You still need a clone to do it."

"Hey, he's learning it faster than you could teach me which proves I'm a better teacher than you," Naruto shouted catching up to him.

"Maybe he's just a better student then you were," Jiraiya mused. "Next time when I leave, I'll take him along." The two continued to argue and Naruto became more animated as they walked forgetting about his problems for the moment.

It wasn't until they had walked into the hospital that Naruto noticed where they were, "What are we doing here?"

"I told you, it's easier to show then tell," Jiraiya answered his tone turning serious. Walking down a hallway his super perverted sensei paused at a random door that opened onto a descending staircase. "Show the dragon hand sign once you reach the bottom of the stairs," the older man said over his shoulder.

Naruto shrugged still not knowing what was going on but did as he was told. The old man at the end of the hallway opened a door that Naruto blatantly realized was sealed. Following his older sensei into the room he said nothing until the door was closed again. "Pervy Sage, what's going on here?"

The white-haired Sannin slowly turned in a circle taking an unnatural interest in the filing cabinets that line the walls. "This," he began slowly "is supposed to be one of the most secured rooms in Konoha. This room is surrounded by two feet of reinforced concrete along with a seal that is supposed to prevent anyone from penetrating the walls or opening the door from the outside unless you're one of three people."

"That's interesting but why,"

"Somebody broke into this room during the raid," Jiraiya interrupted turning to face him, "and stole a file. The Hokage wants me to figure out how they did it. Now come here I want to show you something." He put his hand against the wall and Naruto mimicked him. "Channel chakra to your hand, like you're going to climb the wall. You feel it?"

Naruto paused before answering. He felt something it was sort of slippery like a half melted ice cube, "Yeah, it's slippery."

"That means the seal is still working. I want you to help me check out the room, if you feel anything different no matter how small call me over immediately. You take the left side I'll take the right and don't forget about the ceiling and floor."

So, you just want me to do your work for you Naruto thought maliciously. If he was in a better mood he might've argued but, the situation with Konohamaru still had him worried so, he threw himself into the work. For an hour he worked quietly and diligently.

Finishing up at the door he collapsed onto the floor, having found nothing. His sensei had finished his side of the room several minutes before him and was staring up at the ceiling thinking. Closing his eyes being more bored than tired, he wondered if he had missed something. Then his eyes shot open realizing what he had missed. At the bottom of the door there was a small gap. He could slip his thumb under the gap and when he tried to test it with his chakra he felt nothing. "Hey there's a gap here."

Jiraiya rushed over to double check his claim and after a second he started to chuckle. "What's funny," Naruto demanded.

Shaking his head he explained, "There was a lot of effort put into the building of this room and nobody thought of that small detail. They could've used bugs or even a mouse to get through that gap and once they were on the inside," he reached down and turned the knob, "they could just let their master in. Smiling at Naruto he added, "I knew bringing you along was a good idea. Let's go tell the Hokage."

Naruto grinned back but then he remembered where he was. "Um, can you do that by yourself? There is somebody I want to visit while I'm here.

Jiraiya shrugged, "Fine but, I'm taking all the credit than."

Naruto shot him a glare but didn't have the heart to argue. Right now he was just hoping that Moegi's mother wouldn't be in her room.

* * *

Otonashi quietly sipped his tea while glaring up at the clock in the conference room. It was only two hours until the meeting and his replacement hadn't arrived yet. If he didn't arrive soon there wouldn't be a meeting. He no longer had the authority to move forward on anything particularly when it came to the hostages that Konoha was requesting. The last order he had been given was to brief the new ambassador but, if he didn't show up he very well couldn't do that.

Not for the first time he tried to distract himself with a little game of guessing who the new ambassador would be. Minus a few meetings with the Raikage he didn't know anyone high up in the village's hierarchy. True his father worked in the administration of the village but he mostly dealt with the paperwork for mission classification.

The door quietly opened and an old man walked silently into the windowless room. Otonashi struggled for a minute knowing he knew him somehow then he remembered and suddenly stood, "Sir."

It was not every day that somebody of his rank saw the Raikage's personal assistant. Not only did this man hold a position that he dare not aspire to but, had also trained his former sensei. Otonashi would admit he had not been the best student but, that had not been his sensei's fault and he didn't want this man to think badly of his former student. "The meeting is scheduled in a little under two hours but, I will request it push back if we need to," he blurted the first thing that came to his mind.

"Are you implying that I came unprepared?"

"No," Otonashi answered shaking his head violently, "it's just you had a long trip and"

"I am not a feeble old man." Otonashi tried to make several apologies at once but his mouth had been detached from his brain. It only seemed capable of making incoherent noise. The man smiled kindly and added, "Relax, you're far too nervous for the situation. I can see why you want to hide behind a mask."

That was a little unfair he thought. "Yes sir."

"Call me Yurasu."

"Yes, um Yurasu."

"You're nothing like your sensei was at this age but, he was always a bit different."

Otonashi nodded at the reference to his fallen teacher. Changing the subject he asked, "I'm supposed to brief you but I think I was able to summarize everything in the reports."

Yurasu nodded, "Just sit. There's still time to go over the presentation. I just want you to ask any questions you think the Hokage would ask, understand?" He nodded and watched as the old man pulled out a scroll from his pouch and started summoning objects from it.

"Of the fifteen hostages that Konoha requested we can provide them with eight and myself. Pending their final agreement they can be moved to Kusa within three days after Konoha agrees. The cost of the mission will be split evenly between the two villages. A message will be sent by Konoha to Kusa every twenty-four hours to keep the hostages alive for the duration of our alliance. If they do not receive a message for forty-eight hours the hostages are to be killed."

"Has Kusa already agreed to this?" Otonashi interrupted.

"We have not contacted them but, they were on the approved list and considering their financial state they won't pass up on such an easy mission." Yurasu glared at him and Otonashi received the impression that he had asked a dumb question.

"Continuing on we are now capable of adding ten more ninjas for a grand total of sixty to the operation." Yurasu finished while he unrolled a large map of the Rice Field Country. "We've managed to identify twenty two locations that we will have to hit to eliminate Sound as a threat. Of course Konoha may have intelligence we do not.

"There are seventeen locations highlighted in green. Those are sites that are abandoned but, they are occasionally reactivated and frequently used as resting spots. We can hit them as secondary targets."

Otonashi quietly nodded noticing that most of the green dots were within thirty mile of the Rice/Fire border. A thought occurred to him but, he was hesitant to voice it after the reaction to his first. After another minute of thought he decided to risk it. "There are probably some survivors of the raid hiding out in the outpost. I think Konoha will be hesitant to send their forces into a country when there is a possibility of their forces being cut off."

Yurasu seemed to consider what he was saying for a minute before nodding. "You might be right. However, because Sound is not like a normal village we have to hit all these targets at once so we won't lose the element of surprise. Maybe we can hit a few of them in the initial attack to create holes in case they need to retreat. It's something I'll have to bring up with the Hokage."

Otonashi wondered if she might already know. After all this room was probably bugged, maybe that was why they were doing this. If Konoha received the information now they would be better prepared and that could save time and face in the long run.

"These four yellow dots here are permanent bases. We don't know what they're used for but they're well guarded. Like all of Sound's facilities there underground. This prevents us from even estimating their size but, from what we have seen not many people seem to go in or out. The only other thing we know about these bases is that they use the bell system around the perimeter."

Otonashi felt his stomach turn in disgust. The bell system was a despicable tactic. An inexperience and generally young ninja would be put on guard duty. Since sentries were taken out before an attack these were easily dispatched. That was their purpose. A more experienced ninja would be watching them and when they were killed it would sound the alarm. These expendable guards were called bells.

Yurasu's voice snapped Otonashi back to attention as he continued on, unaware of his listener's digression. "This red Spot is where Orochimaru is. Unfortunately, we can only guarantee that for another ten days before he moves again. Combine that fact with their recent loss of most of their command structure and this is really a time sensitive mission."

* * *

Author's question: Did the last part sound too much like an information dump?


	12. Tears of Sorrow Tears of Joy

Hanabi Hyuga led the captive back to her sensei. She was covered in dirt from head to toe but, oddly content with her work today. For more than an hour they had chased their quarry through the woods. Countless times they had closed in only to have their target escape as if he was playing with them and perhaps he had been.

Genma was waiting for them by a tree gazing off into the distance and didn't notice his teams approach until they were almost on top of him. He blinked as if his thoughts had been far away and glanced at his watch. "That took you a while."

"He's smarter than he looks," Hanabi deadpan coming to a stop. Her hand was nuzzled as the nine month old puppy demanded attention which she happily gave.

"Alright, we'll just hand him over to his owner and we can rack up another successfully completed mission." He started to walk away followed by two of his students and the dog while the third member of the team Akeno hung back. "Is something wrong?" Genma said turning to face his lagging student.

Hanabi had noticed that Akeno had been quiet all day and in fact had been quiet since the village had been raided. Now he fixed his sensei with a determined gaze and asked, "When are you going to let us do a real mission?"

Genma sighed and moved his senbon to the other side of his mouth. "D-ranked missions are real missions. They provide valuable income to the village and I have done well over a hundred myself. Remember you're still genin and not even three months out of the Academy yet."

"Then how come we're the only team that hasn't done a higher ranked mission. Hell Sarutobi and Uchiha teams killed a Missing-nin on their last mission," Akeno snapped.

That caught Hanabi's attention. This was the first she had heard about it.

"The only reason they fought that Missing-nin was because they disobeyed orders. They are very lucky that they didn't get themselves killed and that only happened because the man was already severely wounded."

"Why were they given a better mission than we were?" Akeno demanded.

"You're not ready for them yet," Genma tone said the conversation was over.

Takeo and Hanabi had been standing back watching the exchange while attempting not to look like they were. Both were embarrassed for their teammate. Then he suddenly rounded and pointed an accusing finger at her, "This is your fault. We are being punished because the last heiress got herself killed?"

"What are you talking about?" Hanabi allowed her anger to show, simultaneously angry that she was being compared to her departed sister and not liking the way he had referred to her.

"Think about it," Akeno snapped. "Why do you think we haven't seen any real combat? It's because your clan doesn't want you to get hurt."

"That's enough Akeno. The only thing you're doing is showing why you're not ready for a higher ranked mission," Genma cut him off losing his laid-back attitude.

Hanabi was stunned by her teammate's venomous words and was surprised how much they hurt. This was someone she wanted to be her friend and she could not understand why he would say such a thing. She was the Hyuga heiress. She was not coddled.

Genma continued, "Clearly everyone's had a rough day. I'll hand in the dog and give you your pay tomorrow. Go home and get some rest. Meet at the normal spot at the normal time tomorrow."

Akeno stormed off without saying another word and Takeo was at her side in a second saying, "He didn't mean it. He'll apologize tomorrow," and with that he chased after his teammate.

Left alone with her sensei she tried to ask a question but the words were caught in her throat and she couldn't even turn to face him.

"Hanabi, it was just dumb luck that they were able to kill Kabuto. They shouldn't have even tried."

Kabuto she had heard of that name. He was supposed to be the second-in-command of Sound. How was that possible unless, was that the power of Ranmaru's kekkei genkai? Even considering that everyone on those teams was an early graduate like herself. It was amazing that they could take out somebody of that caliber, even if he had been half dead. "They really took out someone that strong?"

He must've read something in her voice, "I thought you knew. Everyone's been talking about it."

"No," was her simple answer. Unspoken was the bitter thought who would've told me? "I'm going home." Handing the makeshift leash over to her sensei she left without looking back.

By the time she arrived home her shock had turned to anger. It was both irrational and unbecoming of her but, the heiress couldn't help it. Only half aware the young genin arrived at the door to her father's office. Not knowing if he was in his office she flung the door opened and froze. Her father's dark eyes pinned her in the doorway and at that moment her anger fled and was replaced with shame as she remembered her appearance and realize she must look every inch the petulant child.

"Can I help you?"

The older Hyuga's tone was all the rebuke Hanabi needed as her face turned red. "Excuse me father but, can I ask you something?" He waved her foreword and she hesitated for a second not knowing exactly why she had come here. Closing the door behind her she stepped foreword and asked the first question that came to her mind. "Have you made any requests regarding my training?"

Hiashi rubbed his eyes wearily as he put the paper he was reading facedown. "Hanabi you are an amazingly talented young kunoichi. Somebody I will be honored to hand the clan over to one day and despite that I wish you were still at the Academy."

"What?" The younger of the two whispered.

"I do not intend to coddle you. I merely want you to be more developed when you take on more serious missions. Considering your natural talent and how hard you were trying to graduate early that wasn't going to happen. A month before you were to graduate I approached the Hokage and discussed my concerns. She allowed me to select your team so that they had potential but would most likely need several years to realize it."

Hanabi's eyes were fixed on the floor as she tried not to wince at every word. Her vision blurred for a second and she realized she was about to cry. Biting her lip she forced out, "Thank you." Turning she left the room feeling sick not even hearing her father's call to come back. Stumbling into her room she leaned against the Shoji screen and removed her Hitai-ate from her forehead. After a moment she flung it across the room and stumbled to the closet.

Although her world seemed to be falling apart she had enough forethought to dig out her pillow to stifle her sobs. She cried. She cried longer and harder then she had at any other time in her life. She cried for many reasons, because of her father because of her team and for the sister she had lost but, most of all she cried because she had no one to turn too.

* * *

"At least this narrows the field down." Tsunade muttered leaning back in her chair.

Jiraiya side, "You're falling into his trap."

"Excuse me," she raised an eyebrow in question.

"Right now you think Danzo is trying to build support for a coup, right? You already know where the Hyuga would stand. I am presuming because of what I just told you you're also including the Aburame clan in the same column but, the evidence is pretty circumstantial."

"During the attack I put those two clans in the same defensive positions. If one of them abandoned their post to steal the file they could back each other up," Tsunade added annoyed at her old teammates attempt to read her mind, even if he had been right.

The pervert shrugged, "All right but, I still think your making it way too complicated. Danzo isn't exactly known for his elegance"

"That doesn't matter," she cut him off in midsentence. "Remember he does care about this village too even if it's different than the way we do. It's not like I can cut the allies down between good and bad people. If people believe I'm not leading the village correctly they will act to protect the village they love as would we."

"You have done a fine job leading the village. Your grandfather would be proud. When you came into office the village had just been attacked and almost destroyed. Then there was that trouble with the samurai and then to top it off you've had this low level war going on. Despite all that the village is still strong."

"If enough bad things happen under one leader people start to blame them, even if there is nothing a leader can do about it." She snapped at him annoyed that he would bring her grandfather's memory into this.

Jiraiya crossed his arms and snorted, "That doesn't mean they'll follow Danzo. The problem you're having is you think he thinks like you."

Tsunade raised her other eyebrow, "Explain."

"If you were planning a coup, you would try to build support for it before hand to make it seem legitimate. Danzo doesn't care about that. He would just make sure to be your successor or control your successor. Once the office was his it wouldn't matter if you were assassinated under mysterious circumstances. If you want to find his allies I wouldn't necessarily look to the clans but to the people who would appoint your successor."

"The Advisory Council," she supposed it was a possibility but, as a matter of course she had Danzo routinely followed. None of those three had any communication with each other. It was possible they might use intermediaries but that would be risky. "Then why steal the file at all?"

Jiraiya shrugged and headed toward a window and she slowly spun in her chair to follow him. "Well look at it this way. A few days ago you trusted both the Hyuga and Aburame. Today you know one is neutral and you're questioning the other. He's neutralized two of your allies with one move, not bad."

"So if it wasn't a member of the Aburame clan who broke into the room?" She asked crossing her arms.

He squinted and leaned closer into the window, "Again you have to think like him. He sees his subordinates as pieces on a board so he wouldn't think twice about sacrificing one. I'd bet you're gambling debts that the person who did it is dead. Investigate the casualties on the day of the attack and I'm sure you'll find one of them had the skills."

She nodded to herself mentally constructing a list of people she could spare to investigate. "You know you would have been a good Hokage Jiraiya."

Her old teammate's laughter filled the room. "Not in a million years. When you gather intelligence as long as I have, you become good at getting into other people's heads besides the hat would ruin my hair." Despite herself she smiled at the mental image that thought conjured up. Then he turned to face her. "I want to be assigned to the group that's attacking Orochimaru's hideout."

For a second Tsunade said nothing understanding why he was asking but knowing she couldn't allow it. "Sorry I have another mission that only you can do. It's about the hostages I need to confirm that the toddler contains the Nibi before we can proceed with this alliance."

"The Nibi, they're serious about this. I'm sure I can get back in time before the attacks though."

She shook her head sadly, "Danzo might try something while most of Konoha's force is occupied with the attack. If he does succeed in assassinating me I need you to carry out some final orders."

He leaned against the window interested, "And what are these orders?"

"If I'm assassinated I am hereby ordering you to assassinate all members of the Advisory Council along with Danzo." To Jiraiya's credit he didn't even blink.

"Can't you get someone else to do that like Kakashi?"

"He is on a team trying to find Danzo."

"Then call him back. If you think Danzo is going to try something he'll want to be nearby so he can assume power quickly."

"We can't be sure of that."

"Tsunade he's one of us. Please I need to be the one that stops him."

He met her eyes and for all the years she had known Jiraiya she now saw something in them that she had never seen before. Despite her better judgment she caved. "Do you realize that's the first time you ever said please to me," She sighed. "If Kakashi can get back in time I'll order you to go." Jiraiya smiled sadly and went back to looking out the window. She hesitated for a moment wondering if she should leave him to his thoughts but, then she realized he was staring at something in particular. "What's so fascinating out there?"

"Oh, from this window you can see into a gym and there is a woman's aerobics class in progress."

"What," the growing respect she had for her teammate evaporated instantly and she growled out, "do you know what defenestrated means."

"No should I?" He asked distractedly as he leaned closer into the window.

"Let me show you," in one swift motion she stood picking up her chair and throwing it at her teammate she sent both of them crashing out of the window.

* * *

Naruto slowly made his way through the darkening streets of Konoha. He had only intended to spend a few minutes with Moegi in her hospital room but had ended up spending more than an hour with her. After that he had started walking with no particular destination in mind. Half of him wished he would run into Konohamaru on the street and the other half wished he didn't.

For the first time in his life he didn't want to train and at the same time he wanted to be doing something. Eventually he ended up helping a young couple patch up their shop. Compared to when Sand and Sound had invaded the village had gotten off light but, there still was damage and not all of it was from the fires.

Rounding the corner to his apartment he paused seeing Jiraiya leaning against his building. Coming to a stop in front of him he muttered, "How'd it go?"

The older man shrugged. "She wanted to know how somebody could break into the room; you pretty much figured that out. Their fixing the hole now so it won't happen again but, that's a little like apologizing to the dead."

Naruto blinked at the strange comment before shrugging it off and adding, "So, what do you want?"

"I have to do a quick mission. So, I can't help you with your training idea right now. I'm meeting up with those hostages to confirm one of them is who they say he is. I'll be back before the big mission though."

"What are you talking about?"

Jiraiya eyed him curiously, "Sorry I thought you knew. Konoha along with Kumo will attack and destroy Otogakure in a few days. Your team will be participating although I don't know what exactly you'll be doing."

"But Kakashi sensei isn't here. Who's going to lead?" Naruto asked confused.

"Well," Jiraiya crossed his arms and assumed an exaggerated thinking pose. "One of your teammates did become a chunin during the last exam. So he'll probably be in charge."

"No way, I am not taking orders from Sasuke."

The old pervert laughed and threw an arm around his shoulders. "Well maybe he'll be lucky and you'll get assigned to my team."

"Since when do you go on missions?" He was half joking in his travels with the man he had learned that he did actually work hard sometimes.

"You wound me. Do you not remember all that training I helped you with and don't forget the old hideout of Orochimaru we took out last year."

"I remember I did most of the work," he was starting to feel better just having the old man around.

"I just wanted to see how far you had come. Now get out of here and get some sleep you're going to need it when I get back." The man playfully shoved him and walked away.

Naruto watched Jiraiya leave until he turned the corner. Then he started to climb the stairs feeling his depression start to close around him again. Reaching the top floor he paused when he saw a shadowy figure apparently sleeping in his doorway. He approached them cautiously when he suddenly realized it was Konohamaru with his jacket wrapped around him like a blanket. He nudged the boy awake with his foot and was surprised when he smiled up at him.

"Take a look at this." His friend tried to stand but his leg apparently had fallen asleep and Naruto had to catch him before he fell. Straightening himself Konohamaru held out a water balloon and to his surprise it started to stretch and within a few seconds it burst. "I told you I would do it."

He smiled at his friend writing off his quick learning to his excellent teaching. "Alright I'll show you the next step tomorrow. I want you here bright and early."

"Yes sir," Konohamaru saluted and then added handing over Naruto's coat added, "Thanks for lending me this." Even in the dark it was obvious he was blushing from embarrassment.

Ruffling his friend's hair he told him to get some sleep. When he was in his apartment he collapsed into his bed with a smile. His friend hadn't mentioned the incident. Somehow Naruto knew he never would because it didn't matter to him and that was oddly satisfying. He tried to tell himself that there was just something in his eye.

* * *

Defenestrated: to throw something or somebody out of a window. Thanks go to the author extra type for introducing me to the word through her story Dregs Ninja.

Authors note: That was a long wait for a not that spectacular chapter. Sorry but, some of you will be happy to hear I'm off to finish Assassins in the Snow.


	13. Meetings

Hanabi awoke to a pain in her back and an overall stiffness. She didn't remember falling asleep but, she must have at some point. Crawling on all fours like a cat she stretched her limbs. Sleeping with her back against the wall was definitely not a good idea. Her stomach growled reminding the young Hyuga that she had not eaten since lunch yesterday. Apparently they thought better of disturbing her last night.

Catching a glimpse of herself in her mirror she froze. She still had dust from yesterday's mission on her face except where the tears had washed it away forming two grimy rivers on either side of her face. Her appearance was unsuitable for an heiress and she found that she didn't care. At the same time though she had no interest in being reprimanded by her father so she headed across the hall to the bathroom.

After washing her face she noticed that her eyes were bloodshot. Hanabi knelt and rested her head against the porcelain, as if she needed a reminder of last night. Still there was a part of her mind that always compared her action to Hinata's. As much she missed her sister she wanted no comparisons between them and she definitely had been acting like her. Her eyes proved it.

She couldn't let anyone see her like this. That at least would be simple enough. Sneaking through the house she relied on the Byakugan to avoid anyone. She left a note in the right spot that simply said early-morning mission. It wasn't that uncommon for one of her parents or herself to miss breakfast on those grounds. Although, it was uncommon for her not to mention it to anyone the night before but, hopefully they could chalk that up to her temper tantrum. Leaving the mansion without incident she almost made it to the gate before she was caught.

"You're up early," the unmistakable voice of Neji called to her.

Why didn't she keep her Byakugan active until she was out of the compound? She berated herself. "Early mission," she answered.

"Really," she heard him approach from behind, his sandals making little sound on the smooth stone. "It looks like you slept in those clothes."

"Late mission," she mentally kicked herself as she said those words. She was still a genin. There was no way she would receive missions back to back.

"Are you all right?" He cut directly to the point.

"Yes, of course." As much as she wanted to she couldn't get upset over someone inquiring about her health.

He started to step around her and she turned her head keeping her eyes averted. "Hanabi, I know what it's like to feel trapped. If you want to talk to somebody I am here."

For a moment she almost bought it. She wanted somebody, anyone to talk to that was not her parents but, it seemed too perfect. Her father had gone as far as to manipulate her team to suit his purposes. Neji frequently trained with him it was easy to form a connection. Not to mention that he was a branch member.

Hanabi spun hitting right under her cousins sternum. It was not a Juken move and maybe that was why it connected or maybe he just didn't try. Either way he was stunned and she was running. Later she would realize she might've been a tad paranoid but at that moment it felt right.

Running from a Byakugan user with Neji rumored range was a purely symbolic gesture but, he seemed to get the hint. Eventually she had to stop running not so much because she was tired but simply she had no place to go. Konoha was still not well known to her and she was in the shopping district an area she had rarely ventured. Most of the shops were still closed but, a few were open and a tea shop caught her eye.

A moment later she had a cup of tea and was sitting on an outdoor bench. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was until she had downed half the cup before becoming lost in her thoughts. It wasn't that she couldn't see her father's point of view. The clan had already lost one heir so it made sense that he would want to be cautious with her. It was a sound logical move but she couldn't help but feel betrayed.

Self-pity was not an emotion she ordinarily would indulge in but, there was a time for everything. The world slowly came to life around her and she took no notice of it. Even when she felt somebody sit next to her she just stared into her cup.

"Your tea is cold."

Her head snapped around at the slightly effeminate voice. Ranmaru sat an arm's length away from her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going for my morning walk and I saw you here so I decided to stop and talk."

"Morning walk?" That sounded like something her grandfather would do.

He tilted his head smiling picking up on her tone but not the meaning. "Yeah walking is still," he trailed off and thought for a minute, "novel."

As odd as Hanabi thought that comment was she ignored it. "What do you want?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Nothing really. You just look like you needed somebody to talk to."

She eyed the boy suspiciously. Her father had asked her only a few days ago to befriend this boy and find out about his eyes. Now he was talking to her which struck her as suspicious. It would be best to retreat. "I don't need to talk to anyone."

"Nobody likes being alone and you don't talk to anyone."

Ranmaru's words struck a nerve and she snapped at him, "What do you know about being alone."

"Quite a lot," His smile was disarming. "Until a few years ago I never left my hut."

Hanabi had been about to storm off but, his words and demeanor caused her to sit back down. "What do you mean?"

"What I said," his answered was less then illuminating. He brushed his lavender bangs out of his eyes. "So, why are you upset?

She was wary of this odd boy but, at the same time he seemed safe. He was no relation to her so anything she said probably wouldn't be reported back to her father and right now that was a big plus. "I don't have any friends."

Ranmaru nodded sagely as if the simple sentence had a deep and profound meaning to it. "That's rough." He started to play with his hair as if he was thinking. "My friends and I are getting together tomorrow why don't you meet them?''

That caused her to laugh bitterly. "I know your friends they don't like me."

To her surprise he smiled, "Hoshiko probably doesn't like you. She really wanted to be the rookie of the year. Konohamaru didn't like that you spoiled one of his pranks and everyone else is just following his lead."

"So, why would that be different now?" She didn't remember the prank thing but at least she finally had a reason for Hoshiko's hostility toward her even though it seemed a little petty.

"He probably doesn't think about it anymore. Besides he would like somebody new to tell his latest battle story too. I'll say that's why you want to meet them."

Hanabi was tempted and really the worst thing that could happen was it would blow up in her face. That had already kind of happened with her team. She supposed it was worth a shot but, "Is this a trick?"

"No," he stood to leave. "We're going to meet at Reiko's which is actually over there." He pointed down the street, "I hope to see you then."

The Hyuga heiress watched Ranmaru disappear into the crowd. The timing of this whole thing was suspicious but at the same time it was an opportunity. Beside, her father had asked her to try to gain information on that boy. Even if she was upset with him right now duty to her clan was too deeply ingrained in her to simply abandon it. However, there was a part of her that was excited about the opportunity. If only she didn't think there was something more to it.

* * *

"Can you hurry up Shikamaru," Sakura said leaning against the wall in an attempt to conceal her partner's work. Technically they were following orders but, breaking and entering was unnerving.

"I haven't picked a lock since the Academy. It's not exactly a skill that comes back to you easily," Shikamaru answered a second before the bolt clicked. "Come on," he slipped into the apartment.

Following him into the apartment Sakura took in the room. This would be the second place the two of them had checked. Tsunade had given them a partial list of the casualties and told them to search their residences for any proof that they might be hidden Root members. Unfortunately, she hadn't given them any more details. Sakura doubted Root members would leave written orders around especially when they had to do with the theft of documents but, if they could find evidence that somebody has the necessary skills that would be good enough.

Everyone on their list lived alone so she had been expecting to see something like Naruto's or Ranmaru's apartment but, this place was bigger. It had to be twice the size of either of theirs. Impeccably neat its walls were lined with paintings that made it seem more like an art gallery than a home.

Shikamaru walked to the center of the studio apartment and formed a hand seal. A dark shadow started to pool at his feet like a puddle. Slowly it grew larger slipping into every nook and cranny of the floor.

Sakura would be more interested if he hadn't already explained it to her earlier. It was a modification on his family jutsu that his father and he had worked on. It was used to find hidden compartments in the floors, walls and ceiling. Effective but not perfect. If the object they were looking for was in the open or hidden in something that had a natural opening such as a pillow it was no use.

She started her own search. Checking the paintings to see if any of them had been moved recently she notice they didn't have any names which seemed odd. The couch was next but the cushions were just cushions. Checking each of the individual books on the bookshelf she again came up with nothing. That only left the desk.

Shikamaru's shadow now covered most of the floor and was starting to creep up the walls. Crossing over it she shivered even though she knew it was harmless. Taking a seat behind the desk she checked the drawers for triggers. Finding nothing she started to go through them. Pens, paper and a picture book was all she found. The last drawer finally had something interesting.

There were two scrolls. Unrolling the first one she started to read. It was old but, it told how to do a complex jutsu call Choujuu Giga. She thought the theory was interesting and complicated combining several simple things into one. It was the second scroll that really interested her though. The second scroll was newer and was apparently still being written as it cut off abruptly almost in midsentence. It too talked about the Choujuu Giga but, concentrated on how to use it for recon.

Looking up from her scroll a smile danced across her lips. Shikamaru had covered the floor and walls along with most of the ceiling and she waited for the inky shadows to complete the in globing of the room. "Anything," she asked surrounded in darkness. He shook his head in the negative and she held up the scroll. "I think this is our guy. He could bring drawings to life."

After he took a look at the scroll himself he was inclined to agree but, insisted they finish searching the rest of the places. That wasn't what she was hoping for but that was the problem of being outranked. You didn't have much choice in the matter.

* * *

Kakashi past through the southern gates just before they were to be closed for the day. As his name was registered a a frog about the size of Pakkun hopped in front of him. It was only mildly surprising to him when the frog directed him to the nearest hot springs. Intrigued he did as he was asked. Assuming he wasn't supposed to go into the building he walked along the bamboo fence until he found an old man peeking through a hole.

"You know that's going to get you killed one of these days."

Jiraiya looked up at him a hurt look across his face, "As if they could. Besides how could I write my next novel without doing any research?"

Kakashi's single eye curved upwards in a smile, "Well that's certainly a noble goal but, would you mind." He tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah," standing Jiraiya rubbed the back of his neck as they walked over to the railing. There was a small stream and for a moment they only heard the sound of the gurgling water beneath them. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to make it," Jiraiya spoke leaning against the railing.

"I was at the tip of the tea country," Kakashi answered.

"Any luck finding the old bastard?"

The jonin sighed, "No, he left a dozen false trails."

"That's a pain but, you're new mission will be a lot easier. You know were attacking Sound?" He asked.

"Yes but, since the entire team wasn't recalled I'm assuming I'm not going," Kakashi answered.

"Tsunade believes that Danzou is going to make his move while most of Konoha's force is away. If she is assassinated she wants you to take out the entire Advisory Council and Danzou if he pops his head back in the village." Taking a paper from his pocket the Sannin handed it over to the younger man. "There is the order in writing."

He only glanced at it before putting it in his own pocket. "If the Hokage is dead and the Advisory Council is in need of new members how is a successor chosen?" Kakashi did not want to see Danzou in charge of the village but, being leaderless could almost be as bad in the short run.

"Normally, it would fall to her appointed successor but, since she hasn't appointed one and the council would no longer be a factor it would fall to a jonin assembly. None of his members have anywhere near the necessary support to win that way," Jiraiya answered.

The younger pervert nodded satisfied. A comfortable silence descended upon the two until he broke it. "I haven't had a chance to ask you yet but how did Naruto's training trip go?"

Jiraiya shrugged in an overly casual manner. "We could've accomplished more but, things kept popping up. If I had had another six months well, no reason to dwell on it now. Maybe we can continue when this mess is done."

Kakashi had mixed emotions about that announcement. He would acknowledge that Jiraiya could teach Naruto things he could not but, he felt an obligation to the boy that went beyond the student teacher bond. With effort he managed to suppress those thoughts for now.

"There was an incident with Kyuubi while you were gone."

"What!" The jonin's head snapped around.

The older man nodded. "It seems Naruto is trying to teach the rasengan to that friend of his. At the same time he tried to do that leaf training by creating several clones. Kyuubi was able to take control of one. No one was hurt but the timing is worrying."

"What do you mean?"

"The Kyuubi clone tried to attack the kid which seems a strange thing for it to do. It may have just been chance but, nobody really knows how smart the fur ball is. That friend of his is important to him. If Naruto was responsible for his death he would probably lose more control and when that happens, his tenant can come out and play," Jiraiya finished.

They were both transported back into different times. One remembering the first and only time he saw a real demon. The other remembered another blonde that he had failed.

"Well," the older man pushed away from the railing. "I have to go do a favor for an old teammate and then I have to kill another but, before all that I have to tell Naruto something."

"And what is that?"

Glancing over his shoulder the Sannin answered flippantly, "That kid from Kumo is still acting friendly with Naruto. I just thought Naruto might be interested in one of the hostages his _friends _village is using."

Kakashi didn't understand at first and then he remembered. Kumo's general policy towards Jinchuriki was to either recruit them or kill them. There had been a rumor in the last year or so that they had managed to recruit the eight tails host but it had yet to be confirmed. Although, he could never picture Naruto defecting they would certainly try and convince him.

* * *

Kisame was well aware that his partner was crazy. It really wasn't that uncommon among Akatsuki members and since Itachi was a quiet crazy it didn't really bother him. When he had first met the boy and that's what he had been he was sane but, something had happened in the first two months. Apparently not everybody could massacre their family and walk away with a clear conscience no matter what circumstances.

He had seen it before and considering the hidden village he had originally came from it was almost normal to him. Now if he had Hidan as a partner well he would definitely have to decapitate him and leave his head at the bottom of a lake. The fish could nibble on him for eternity.

Hearing his partner's approach he turned to face him and ask, "Why does Konoha look like a freshly kicked over anthill?"

Itachi came to stand next to him on a hill that overlooked Konoha. "They're attacking Sound."

The taller of the two considered that for a moment. "Do you think we should report this? Orochimaru used to be one of us."

"If Pain doesn't already know, then there's no point in telling him. There isn't any time to do anything about it," the self-made orphan answered without taking his eyes from the village.

Kisame smiled revealing his serrated teeth and added, "Well, this will make your little mission easier." His comment received no rise out of the younger man and after a moment he continued. "If the container for the nine tails is heading out we might be able to grab him on the way back."

"Fine, but first I have to clean house."

* * *

Authors note: I'm finally back to this story after finishing Assassins in the Snow.


	14. Family Reunion

Over the course of his admittedly short career, Otonashi had become an early riser. For whatever reason and he personally blamed karma every one of his team leaders had been the early-morning type. Departures before dawn were normal. Although, he had never required a guard to go to the gate before, not that he should really complain. Considering the complicated history between Konoha and his own village he was just happy that he was allowed to participate in the attack.

Glancing over at his pink haired escort he tried to start a conversation. "I kind of thought Naruto would be the one picking me up."

Sakura shrugged which was almost imperceptible in the predawn light. "He's in a bad mood."

"Really," he questioned disbelieving. Granted adding up all the time he spent with Naruto it was actually a very small fraction but, the blonde had always seemed happy even when he had been in that field hospital.

Unfortunately, Sakura wasn't a morning person like himself and allowed the beginnings of their conversation to die a slow painful death. They continued on in an uncomfortable silence until the massive gate came into view with a small group at its base.

He recognized Naruto right away but, his friend didn't even raise a hand in greeting. In fact he even seemed to be glaring at him. That was strange and he tried chalking it up to him being nervous about the mission. The only other person he recognized was Sasuke. Dressed in black except for his vest he blended into the shadows like he owned them. The remaining three were unfamiliar.

"Alright we're all here now." The unknown vest wearer spoke up. "I have seniority here so it's troublesome but, I'm in charge until we meet up with a superior." He sighed as if this was the most difficult thing in the world. "Why don't you explain why we're departing ahead of everyone else?"

Otonashi blinked before he realized that he was referring to himself. "Um yeah, Kumo is committing a small force to this attack too. I'm supposed to be there contact."

"With that said let's head out."

Their leader turned and he had to call to his back, "Could I have some names? You know in case I have to address one of you as something other than hey you."

The teen turn and pointed to himself, "Shikamaru," he gestured to his two companions, "Ino and Chouji. You already know everybody else."

He turned to his blond friend curious why everyone was so abrupt with him but, Naruto seem to be deliberately not looking at him. This was strange but again he blamed it on the mission. It wasn't like they were being unprofessional just unfriendly.

The first two hours passed uneventfully and silently. After their first fifteen minute break a conversation finally broke out but he seemed frozen out of it. Annoyed he retreated within himself and went over what he needed to do in his head. Unfortunately, that was a short list.

After making contact with the force from his village he was back to being an ordinary chunin, which was almost a relief. All he would have to worry about than was a bunch of Sound ninjas doing their very best to kill him. That made him wish he had more poison with him. Doing a quick calculation he estimated he had at best five doses so, he would have to be careful who he used it on.

After midday they crossed a river. From that point on they were in the Rice country and proceeded on in silence. They ended up following a small tributary only letting it out of sight when there were signs of civilization.

The sun set early in this land slipping behind the mountains casting a shadow over the land. Shikamaru called a halt to take note of several landmarks. "This is the spot. We will set up camp here but, no fires. Two hour shifts in groups of two until we attack. The enemy cannot spot us so be on your guard." He turned to face him and for the first time Otonashi noticed how much his head look like a pineapple. "Where is your rendezvous spot?"

"Maybe a mile upstream I'm not exactly sure."

"Go," he gestured with a nod of his head.

Otonashi thought quickly and added, "I need Naruto to go with me."

The chunin hesitated for a second before asking, "Why?"

"Like you said we can't be seen. He's a great force multiplier one minute there is one of him and the next there's fifty." Silently he patted himself on the back for his quick thinking.

The temporary leader seemed to consider this for a minute and turned to address Naruto with a raised eyebrow. His blond friend at least that's what he still thought of him as crossed his arms and huffed like a child, "Fine."

Yeah this was going to be a fun walk he thought to himself. However, he wanted to talk to him and it was the only way to be alone with him. After a few minutes of silence it was Naruto who broke it. "What's the rendezvous spot look like?"

He smiled to himself thinking what his friend's normal reaction would be. "Up ahead there is a sudden bend in the river. It is distinguished by a large dead tree that still stands and is the color of bleached bones."

"That sounds weird. It should be something simple."

"Well it has to be something pacific since we can't exactly give a street name or something." Naruto's only response was a guttural grunt. Moments later they did find the spot and both came to a simultaneous stop. "See," he tried to gloat but his companion didn't rise to the bait.

Instead he created three clones and had them set up a perimeter. The blonde was about to join them when Otonashi grabbed his arm. "Have I offended you or something? Because you've been acting like a jerk to me and so has everyone else. If there's a problem we need to resolve it after all we will be watching each other's backs in a few hours."

Naruto pulled his arm free and smeared, "You know what you did."

The Kumo ninja blinked in astonishment. "Okay you're acting like my girlfriend now. Pretend I know nothing and you won't be far from the truth."

In hindsight he really should've seen it coming. The blonde spun on the ball of his foot and knocked him to the ground with a punch that could have gone through a wall. "You lied to me."

"What are you talking about?" He demanded rubbing his jaw.

"You always made it sound like Kumogakure was different. That they treated Jinchuriki differently."

"We do. There's a whole clan dedicated to preserving the two tales, that's no secret."

"Then why are you using him as a hostage," Naruto demanded.

Suddenly his friend's abrupt change in attitude made sense and truthfully it pissed him off. "Whoever told you that did they also tell you that it was your Hokage that chose the hostages? Did they also tell you that some of the other hostages include two Ayers of founding clans? Well did they?" He took his friend's silence as an answer. "It's because we value him that he's a hostage. The whole purpose of giving you hostages is to ensure we won't betray Konoha."

Naruto's face usually gave away his emotions but, this time it seemed to continually shift from one emotion to the next. He took a shot in the dark. "Were you thinking of defecting or something?"

The blonde smiled, "Konoha is my home and always will be."

"Yeah I figured you would say something like that. So, what did you say to them to give me the cold shoulder?"

Naruto scratch the back of his head nervously, "I just said you were an ass."

Otonashi smiled, "They must be good friends."

His friend blushed which he found funny and the blonde tried to change the subject. "Girlfriend? How come you haven't mentioned her before?"

It was Otonashi's turn to be embarrassed. "It's an on-again off-again thing."

"Who is she?" Naruto asked raising an eyebrow.

"Me," the voice came from behind Naruto who had blocked her approach from Otonashi. Tilting his head to see around the orange obstacle he smiled nervously. "Hi Shiori, um how long have you been there?"

Shiori a former member of his genin team smiled slyly one of Naruto's clones at her side. "Just long enough to hear you to gossiping." She shifted her focus to the Konoha ninja and tossed him a scroll. "That's all the intelligence we have on the target. When you want to finalize the attack plans we are encamped a half-mile west from here." Her eyes flicked back to him, "who are you staying with?"

He had to think for a minute before he could answer. "I should probably stick with Konoha just in case something comes up."

She nodded and turned to leave, paused and said over her shoulder, "A simple courier mission um? Looks like it got complicated."

Before he could respond she disappeared into the woods and Naruto turned to face him, "What was that all about?"

"Well I couldn't tell her I was going on a secret mission for the Raikage could I? I really didn't think she would be here."

Naruto dispersed his clones and helped him get to his feet. "No, I mean you two how did that happen? I thought you two didn't get along."

Otonashi side, "That's a long story and it all started when I stole some pocky from her bag."

* * *

Kado Uchiha used to spend hours exploring the compound he lived in. It had been a link to his pass that he knew little about and that he had always wanted. Nowadays though he could pass by the empty houses with as little thought to the previous occupants as either of his two companions had. He glanced over at his smallest teammate who as always seemed oblivious. "Are you going to tell us why you invited Hanabi to sit with us?"

Ranmaru smiled deceptively, "She was lonely and everyone needs a friend."

"And you just decided you would be nice to her today?" Hoshiko demanded stepping in front of him.

"Yes," the small boy said trying to go around her but she grabbed his arm stopping him yet again. His eyes flicked over to Kado but, he was curious to and provided no help. Silently he surrendered and straightened. "You two know how my eyes are supposed to be kept a secret, well the Hyuga found out."

The youngest Uchiha stared in shock at this revelation. He had known about his eyes for awhile of course even before Ranmaru had been assigned to his team. He had befriended him at the Academy simply because he knew what it was like to live in a village where everything was new. Konohamaru and his friends knew about it too for similar reasons. Still, none of them would have told and it was such old news he doubted any of them even thought about it. Then a thought occurred to him. "That would be a reason to avoid her."

Ranmaru shook his head his long hair emphasizing the subtle movement, "Sakura says they don't know everything but they will try to find out more."

Suddenly his friend's plan made sense. Sometimes it was better to have a spy you knew about that you could feed information to then constantly looking over your shoulder. It was a little manipulative for his taste but, then again it was better than the alternatives. The family he had never knew seemed to have a low opinion of the Hyuga and he would admit that was coloring his opinion of them.

Hoshiko seemed to come to the same conclusion and she let Ranmaru's arm go. "Okay I get it but, you should have just said that in the first place. I mean it's obvious that Princess think she's better than everyone else."

"Hey I wasn't lying." Ranmaru insisted jumping in front of her. "Nobody likes being alone not even you Hoshiko. I know you pretend not to like people but, you're here with us right now and we're just going to hang out. Not to mention that you like Moegi and," he paused and a mischievous grin crossed his face "you had that crush on Udon for awhile."

Even in Kado short life he had seen many amazing things. He had seen heat lightning dance across the plains of his former home country and watched as his sensei had summoned a snake as tall as a building. Right now though the only image that could possibly rival the joy he took in Hoshiko's seething face of emotions was that of Sasuke giving a bath to that pug dog he could summon. Her mouth worked but, no words came out. There was no way he could resist, "Udon that's a surprise. I should tell him you know to help you two get together."

She spun to face him. "I never mentioned, it was," turning back to Ranmaru she spoke her first complete sentence. "I'm going to kill you!"

His friend who definitely had a will to live started running pursued by a very angry kunoichi who was shouting threats that were simultaneously inventive and quite possibly anatomically impossible. The youngest Uchiha followed but had no real interest in getting involved.

Ranmaru ran but as he turned a corner he stopped abruptly and Hoshiko ran into him. Lagging behind Kado managed to avoid the pile up and glanced down the street to see what had distracted his friends.

Near the entrance to the main house a figure stood facing the wall. His first thought was that he must be a thief but, he would've hid since they hadn't been quiet and besides that cloak he was wearing was pretty distinctive which was dumb for a thief. "Hey, you're trespassing," his hand drifted to where he kept his kunai.

The man in the cloak didn't acknowledge his words and instead reached a hand out to touch the wall. Kado suddenly remembered what was there. It was a small hole right in the middle of the Uchiha's family crest. He remembered it simply because it was the only obvious damage that had never been repaired. When he had asked Sasuke about it, he had simply shrugged it off which meant I don't want to talk about it.

"I would've thought he would have fixed this like he did with everything else. I guess I don't know my brother as well as I thought." The man turned his head to face him revealing two Sharingan removing any doubt of who he was.

The youngest Uchiha froze at the sight of this prodigal son returned to the scene of his most heinous crime. Itachi slowly turned his body to face his trio of opponents. "It's nothing personal but I have to kill you now." With those words delivered in an emotionless monotone he started towards the three genin.

Kado tried to draw a weapon. He tried to run. He tried to blink but, his muscles seem paralyzed as the world around him seemed to turn red. His teammates didn't seem to be affected as they charge foreword. He cursed himself as he couldn't even shout a warning to them. They were dispatched coldly and efficiently. It was almost beautiful as Itachi used the barest amount of movement and didn't even break his stride.

Then he was only steps away and suddenly Kado could move and he flung his arms out wildly as nothing in the world suddenly seemed right. Powerful arms pushed him down and he suddenly realized he was in a bed.

"Calm down your okay. It was a Genjutsu your okay."

He recognized the voice as the Hokage but, that made no sense. Why would she be anywhere near the Uchiha compound? Then his mind caught up with everything and he realized he was in a hospital.

"How do you feel?"

The question gave him something to concentrate on and he did a mental check. "I'm fine."

"Good. Kakashi take over from here. I have to go have a discussion with the head of security."

The way she said it silently made Kado happy he was already in the hospital. When she left he turned his attention to the Jonin who stood next to his bed. "What happened?"

The man had a serious air which seemed unusual for what he knew about him. "Itachi tried to kill you."

"I know that, why am I not dead." Kado exclaimed with all the pent-up terror he felt.

Kakashi took his outburst in stride and simply leaned away to avoid the flying spittle. "Well your teammates saved you or to be more precise Ranmaru did. As soon as he realized that a Genjutsu was being used he created a cloud of smoke and more importantly through an exploding note."

"He killed Itachi!"

"No, no. That would be nice but no." He shifted his weight uncomfortably. "He threw it and the explosion and resulting smoke brought more attention than Itachi was prepared to deal with. By the time we got there, he had already left. Ranmaru had already pulled Hoshiko out of the Genjutsu and was working on you but couldn't succeed." He paused for a second to allow Kado to register everything he had told him.

"So, Ranmaru was able to neutralize the Genjutsu by himself?" That really did make him feel pathetic.

"Not really. He claims that he didn't notice the Genjutsu. Out of curiosity I tried to cast one on him myself with his eyes activated and it didn't work. So, we want to know. Did Itachi have his Sharingan activated and what can you remember about the Genjutsu?"

The small Uchiha fought for a minute to remember his memory fuzzy. "I think so. I didn't think to activate my own so I can't be sure. As for the Genjutsu, I just thought he killed my teammates and was about to kill me."

The cyclops nodded and turned to leave but, paused to say in a reassuring voice, "Don't worry I am sure Sasuke won't be too upset over the loss of the building."

"What?"

"I thought I told you. When Ranmaru threw the exploding note it landed inside of a building. When it exploded what wasn't destroyed in the blast was consumed in the fire before it was doused. Really it was quick thinking on his part."

With that Kado was left alone. He covered his eyes with his hands and groaned wishing that Itachi had killed him. When Sasuke found out what happened, he was going kill him or worse have him help rebuild the damn thing.

* * *

Masakazu sat on a veranda that overlooked a small garden enjoying a late meal. He had never been much of a drinker but since his recruitment he had been finding more and more comfort in sake. Not that he had truly gotten drunk he had enough self-control and pride to prevent that from happening. Of course his self-restraint was not stopping him from taking a perverse pleasure in running up the bill on his new employers. He had probably already spent more Ryo in the past few days then he will earn working an entire year at the inn.

It serves them right for making him hurry up and wait. He had arrived here well within the allotted time and at that time he had been prepared to die but, the longer he sat here and waited the more he thought about how to get out of this alive.

They claimed they could get him close enough to kill their Hokage and ordinarily he would jump at the chance. Of the individuals that could be blamed for his lord's death she was at the top of the list along with the Raikage. It had been those two who had united the hidden villages although briefly against his lord. If they had attacked them individually he was sure victory would have been theirs.

His mind traveled back to those exciting days when victory seemed assured and honorably had. If things had only been a little different the world would be a very different place than it was right now. A few more troops, a little more political interference by their secret allies and he would've been in an army marching towards Konohagakure instead of slithering in like a snake.

Killing this woman would be satisfying but, he had no intention of doing it. If these people thought that he would become their willing marionette than they were going to be sorely disappointed. As soon as he saw this woman he would throw herself at her feet and tell her everything he knew. At the very least this would result in a purge of the guilty parties but, with a little luck it might turn into a full scale civil war and that would be true vengeance. Raising the small saucer cup to his mouth he smiled.

"You're certainly living it up."

The voice had come from his left and it took all of his discipline not to jump but, instead turned slowly to face his unwanted guest. He was fairly tall and seemed to have something almost like a topknot but without the shaven crown. Of course because he was a coward he wore a mask that looked vaguely like some sort of animal.

"Why don't you take a seat and share a drink with me? This stuff is supposedly the best they have and your boss is paying for it." Part of Masakazu's mind told him he was being petty but, it wasn't like these men deserve respect. They wouldn't even do their own dirty work.

The Man showed no sign of irritation and just allowed the comment to pass with no sign that he even heard it. "You will have your chance for revenge tomorrow. There was an incident today in the village and the security has been doubled at the gates and the walls."

"Incident," Masakazu interrupted. "Was it something that you arranged?"

"No, a well-known criminal penetrated our village security and was chased off."

"And to think we lost to your people. You must've had demons on your side." He must've hit a nerve with the last comment as the man visibly had to restrain himself.

The man seemed to count silently to ten before continuing. "Your cover will be that of a representative of the Marsh Country."

"And why am I pretending to be from there?" He was starting to enjoy irritating his guest.

"Long ago that country had a hidden village and it was small but wealthy. During the second Great War it chose the wrong side and was destroyed."

"Such a tragedy," he interrupted.

"Shut up," the man finally snapped. "Even though this hidden village was destroyed its treasury was never found. You will claim that a map has been found that lead you to this spot. The potential profit from this mission would be extraordinary and the Hokage will have to meet with you in person. I have left appropriate clothes for you in the closet. You will be able to carry your swords openly and the map we have provided will be large enough to conceal your other weapon."

Despite the fact that Masakazu did not have any intention of carrying out this _mission _he did see an opportunity to gather information. "The guards will let me just pass with no problem?"

"You will be given papers that will allow you to past the guards at the gates. As for access to the Hokage there will be only one guard and he is one of ours." The masked man paused for a minute before continuing, "It should take you an hour to get to the village from here so be ready to depart by ten. Somebody will be here to assist you with the last minute preparations."

Masakazu turned to make another snide comment but, the man was already gone. He shrugged and figured at the very least he could say there were three traitors within the ranks. It would be better for them to think there were dozens but, given the caliber of people he was dealing with he might end up in an interrogation chamber and if that happened well he wouldn't lie.

He picked up the white sake bottle and weighed it in his hand. It was mostly full so he emptied it onto the ground.


	15. Attack

Hands gently shook him awake, "Naruto it's time to get up." As he recognized the angelic voice he feigned sleep. After all it wasn't everyday that Sakura was so gentle with him.

"You'll never wake him up that way. Here let me show you how it's done."

That voice was Jiraiya. When did he get here he thought a second before his nose was pinched shut. Gasping he swatted at the hand that was blocking his breathing. He glared up at the old pervert who just grinned down at him and said, "Come on, we are on a time schedule."

The blonde climbed to his feet and stumbled over to join the rest of the group who had formed a semi circle around an empty patch of dirt. Jiraiya crouched and a few hand signs later a three-dimensional map started to emerge from the dirt. Naruto had only seen this jutsu once before and he still thought it was cool.

The base was a sprawling structure between two and three levels deep. Long corridors branched at right angles occasionally opening up on large cavernous junctions. There seemed to be little rhyme or reason to the room's layout which was probably intentional he thought. The entrances seemed to be clustered on the eastern side but, there were long shafts that were probably meant for taking in air on the side furthest from the entrances.

"This map is not perfect," Jiraiya spoke up in what Naruto recognized as his serious tone. "We relied heavily on the Hyuga to gather this information but, they were limited to only a few hours. Still you should try to commit as much of it to memory as possible. I am going to use Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld here, here and here."

As he spoke three quarters crumbled and the map was now bisected into two pieces. "That half," Jiraiya gestured toward the larger of the two parts, "will have its entrances blown sealing it off."

"That won't stop them from digging themselves out," Ino pointed out.

"Pineapple head is right," Otonashi added.

The white-haired man nodded in agreement. "Yes but that will be mostly Kumo's problem. They're going to drop smoke grenades down the air shafts on that side to further the confusion and that should buy us enough time to take out this other half of the base." With a single hand gesture half of the map disappeared. "This is where we're attacking and I'm sure Orochimaru will be there."

"So why don't we just flood that whole area with that jutsu of yours?" Naruto remembered how big that particular jutsu could be. It had after all nearly sucked down the largest snake he had ever seen.

"Two simple reasons really. First even combined we wouldn't have enough chakra to pull that off. The second reason is also why I know Orochimaru is there. In the oldest part of the structure the walls are surrounded by fourteen feet of reinforced concrete. There is no jutsu in anyone's repertoire that could penetrate that much cement in a reasonable amount of time."

"If we're sealing the entrances and we can't break in how are we getting in?" Naruto was grateful to Sasuke for taking the attention off of him.

"Air shafts," Shikamaru supplied taking over the briefing. "They're several large shafts over here. We will be going down this one," he pointed to a long column that actually seemed to go deeper than the lowest level. "The shafts will most likely be booby-trapped so we'll have to take them out before going down. The shafts themselves are guarded and they're using the Bell System so will have to be careful."

"What is a Bell System?" Naruto whispered to Sakura who was standing next to him.

"It's when they use two guards. One is meant to be a sacrifice. That one generally doesn't have a lot of training. Basically he's watched by the second guard and if something happens to the first guard the second one raises the alarm. Now pay attention," she said finishing.

Shikamaru had continued speaking. "Our assignment is to gain control of this room." The room he pointed to was large and seems to be a junction for several corridors. "If any of us run into Orochimaru report it immediately and only engage him if you don't have a choice." The map suddenly dissolved back into the earth. "Any questions?"

"How many are attacking with us," Choji asked.

"Sixty-two are going down other air shafts, everyone but this group is chunin and above. About a quarter are ANBU," Jiraiya answered.

"Anything else," Shikamaru asked. Silence was the only answer, "All right let's move out."

Naruto was about to leave when he felt Jiraiya hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the older man questioningly.

"When this is over we can finish our training trip."

The blonde smiled back, "I would like that."

* * *

"That kid can't be twelve years old," Sakura muttered in disgust.

Naruto nodded in agreement. The kid she was referring to was the bell part of the security. He wore a Hitai-ate but in a thousand ways it was clear he had little to no training. As a guard he was pathetic even in Naruto's opinion. The boy was sitting on the ground his back against the pillar that supported a roof over the air shaft. He was repeatedly stabbing a kunai into the ground clearly bored out of his mind.

Naruto heard a sword being drawn and he glanced over at Sasuke, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting ready," his teammate replied.

"You can't hurt him he's a kid."

"He is a guard," Sasuke replied.

"I hate to agree with him but Sasuke is right. We can't give him the chance to raise the alarm. Even if he shouts it might blow the entire operation," Otonashi added.

"No, we're not killing him." Naruto said emphatically hurt that his friend was agreeing with his rival. "I'll sneak up on him. We can tie him up." He glared at the two chunin.

Otonashi suddenly smiled and tossed him his headset. "All right but if he senses you he's done for."

Moments later Naruto had circled around the small clearing and was simply waiting for Shikamaru signal. A moment later the radio crackled to life and his friends familiar voice spoke, "Guard neutralized." Tamping down his excitement he started creeping towards the kid. Stealth was not his forte but, his target was so oblivious he could have probably just walked right up to him.

When he was only a few steps away he noticed that probably by accident the kid had his back to the sun which meant he would cast a shadow as he approached. This was solved easily enough by slipping into the shadow of the roof.

Then when he was only an arm's length away he longed forward grabbing the arm with the weapon and pulled him to the side. With his other hand he covered the kid's mouth. Planting his knee into his back Naruto trapped the kids arm under his other leg. He tried to scream but it was muffled by his hand which caused him to bite his hand.

Naruto increased the pressure on his back and hissed, "I don't want to hurt you." The boy didn't seem to find that reassuring. The single eye he could see seem to glare at him as he redoubled his efforts to break free. Sakura darted out of the brush and plunged a hypodermic needle into the kid. He stopped struggling and Naruto looked up at his pink haired teammate questioningly.

"He's okay but he'll be out for at least two hours. Come on help me move him." They searched him but he had no radio or any other weapons besides a few other kunai.

"Hurry up you two and grab a thick branch while you're over there," Shikamaru called to them.

The two left the kid in the shade not bothering to tie him up. It took Naruto a minute to find a thick branch that he could break off and run it back to Shikamaru. By then the blonde had figured out why he asked for it.

While he and Sakura had been dealing with the kid Choji, Ino and Shikamaru had been placing explosive tags on a metal grate that covered the air shaft. Directly under it was a fan, slowly spinning sucking air down into the underground caverns. It spun slowly and as Naruto watched Shikamaru shoved the stick down between the metal grate temporary stopping the fan spinning. This allowed his two teammates to place explosives on the fan's support.

"Everyone back," Shikamaru said releasing the fan.

This was the part Naruto hated the most the waiting. They were ready but had to wait for everyone else to catch up to them. He tried to go over their mission in his head but there really wasn't that much to it. Hopefully by the time they reached their target location several other teams would be there.

Instead he started to think about the base itself. "I wonder how they built this thing without anyone noticing."

"It has to be an artifact," Otonashi answered. "There's no way both of our villages wouldn't notice construction this massive."

"Umm, what's an artifact," Naruto questioned.

"Don't bother Otonashi he didn't pay attention in history class." Sakura turned towards him, "An artifact is something that predates the ninja era." The orange clad genin nodded.

"Get ready to go in thirty seconds," Shikamaru announced. There was a soft rustling as everyone prepared to move. "Twenty seconds," Naruto reminded himself that he was supposed to go in last since he was bringing up the rear. "Ten, nine, eight," Shikamaru counted down the last few seconds. "Three, two one," several tags exploded simultaneously. In the distance other explosions could be heard but, as the fan and grate fell there were several other muffled explosions as the traps in the shaft went off.

Shikamaru was the first down the hole followed by his two teammates. Sasuke led the rest of them down. Naruto bounded down the shaft using his chakra to grip the smooth cement. The shaft bottomed out right in the middle of a tunnel and Naruto nearly collided with several of his teammates at the bottom.

Spinning to miss the fan's wreckage he slammed against a wall and rebounded off of it. "Why aren't we moving?"

"The map is already messed up," Sakura supplied. "There was supposed to be a break in the shaft up above but it was sealed tight. This tunnel is new," she gestured around them. He glanced around himself, the light was dimly lit but, he could see the walls were not cement.

"Naruto, create two clones and send them down the passage. If they find stairs tell me right away," Shikamaru shouted to him. "Everyone else let's move I don't want to stay near our entry point for too long."

They had not gone twenty feet when it happened. A huge white wall burst out of the ground cutting the corridor in two and cutting their group in half. Then the ground shook. Naruto tried to skid to a stop but ran into Otonashi who in turn collided with Sakura. All three of them ended up on the floor.

"What happened," Otonashi asked climbing to his feet.

Naruto shook his head and looked around the corridor in the dim light, "It's a trap but, I can smash through this wall." The blonde quickly created a doppelganger to help him with his Rasengan. In record time he was able to smash the spinning ball into the wall.

He expected splinters or perhaps a shriek of metal. What he had not been expecting was nothing. His chakra seemed to pass right through it without causing any damage. Shocked and annoyed he was about to prepare another one when Sakura grabbed his arm. "Naruto stop, listen."

The blonde cocked his head and did as he was asked. He heard something but couldn't identify it. Whatever it was it was growing louder. All three of them were staring at the opposite end of the quarter. It was at that moment he received some information from his clones, it was confusing but, they seem to have been bitten. "Cling to the ceiling."

"Why," Otonashi asked.

Before the jinchuriki could explain the reason became obvious. A slithering horde of snakes appeared at the end of the quarter. There were hundreds of them slithering and writhing over each other. They had to be a least a foot deep and they were coming closer.

* * *

Kiba Inuzuka and his only remaining human teammate Shino Aburame walked down a tunnel. Every ten paces one of them would place an exploding tag on the wall. Not for the first time that day Kiba wished that Hinata was still with them. Her Byakugan would've allowed them to split up and let them set the explosives twice as fast. Instead they had to rely on Akamaru's ears to detect traps. So far they had narrowly missed four trip wires, a pit so deep that they couldn't see the bottom and his personal favorite the ever popular hail of arrows.

"Damn generator, if it was quieter I could use my own ears," Kiba muttered.

"Complaining about it won't make it any quieter," Shino answered placing another explosive.

"This whole mission sucks. Why couldn't we be part of the main attack?" Team Kurenai had been assigned to take out some of the small bases along the border. When they had attacked the underground structure they only found wounded and exhausted Sound ninja most likely left over from the recent attack on Konoha. Of the ten only two had put up a fight and they had been both dealt with via genjutsu. "I haven't even drawn a weapon yet."

"Just because the mission has been easy thus far doesn't mean it can't suddenly turned deadly."

"Shino, you're a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day." Kiba thought for a second and then asked, "What are we going to do with the prisoners." Their prisoners were currently under the guard of Kurenai along with three Kumo chunin who were supposed to be their backup.

"We'll leave them with the Kumo team and then attack the next base. We want the path of retreat to be as wide as possible if it is needed," Shino did not sound like he was interested in the conversation.

Kiba growled irritated, he had a headache. It was making him irritable but sometimes he would swear Shino was teasing him. "That's not what I meant. What are we to do with the prisoners tomorrow just let them go?"

"Something like that," Shino answered.

"Doesn't it seem kind of stupid?

"Sound itself is not the problem. It is their leadership that is pursuing the war. With that gone they would most likely become just another hidden village."

"Filled with people we just kicked the shit out of," Kiba added.

Shino sighed or at least, as close as he ever came to sighing. "My father suggests that Konoha should try to encourage the other nonaligned clans in the Rice country to join Sound. That will dilute any residual anger and besides look at Sand. We have fought a major war against them and they betrayed us and yet they are still our allies. As ninjas we must be eminently practical."

Kiba snorted, "There's being practical and there's being stupid."

"I think the appropriate term is trust but verify. Besides the alternative is wholesale slaughter and no one in our village has the stomach for that."

They came to a doorway and Akamaru sniffed it before admitting a series of soft barks. Kiba interpreted. "It's just a storage room," he reached up and put in place an explosive at the top of the doorway. Akamaru whimpered some more and he had to commiserate with him. "I've got a headache too but, we left our medical supplies back with Kurenai sensei. As soon as we're done I'll get you something for it." He continued walking but noticed his teammate wasn't following him. He stopped and turned, "What's up?"

"You both have headaches?" Shino asked.

"Yeah, so what?"

"We have to get out of here now," Shino turned and ran back the way they had come. Kiba had known his teammate long enough to know that on the rare occasions that his teammate lost his composure he should be terrified. So, he did his best to catch up to him.

Akamaru passed them both and was the first out of the underground base followed in quick succession by the rest of his team. Kiba bent over to catch his breath. Surprised he was winded from such a short distance. Looking back he half expected to see the tunnel collapsing or something chasing them.

Kurenai ran over from where she had been watching the prisoners a kunai in hand. "What's wrong?"

Kiba glanced over at his friend wanting an answer too. Shino straightened his sunglasses and resumed his nothing bothers me attitude. "There was at least one more person in the base that we missed. They clogged whatever was ventilating the generators exhaust. We almost succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning."

Kurenai looked into the woods with newfound suspicion. "Shino as soon as you're up for it I want you to send your bugs into the woods. It's unlikely but the person who set the trap might still be lurking around hoping to rescue their comrades."

Shino responded by allowing his bugs to start to creep out from underneath his coat. Within a minute they were in the woods searching. Kiba straightened himself and grinned deciding to find all of this amusing. "Do you think they'll find them?"

His sensei shook her head in a negative fashion. "I doubt it was more than one or two people. If they saw you come out they probably assumed they couldn't rescue their comrades and will try to go back to the main base to report this and them." She nodded towards the Kumo chunin who were still guarding the prisoners. "Do you think you planted enough explosives to destroy the base?"

Kiba gave a toothy grin, "Oh yeah, big explosion." His eyes shined with hope. "Can I detonate it?"


	16. Ones Worth

Kimimaro has long known that death was his companion. That was true for all ninjas but more so for himself. It would've claimed him long ago if it was not for the talented ministrations of Kabuto and even he had almost given up in the last year. In the end he had put him in a medical induced coma hoping to slow the decay of his body. In truth it was only his will that kept his heart beating. Coming out of his coma he fully expected that the bespectacled medic would be there but, he stiffened as he recognized the presence of Orochimaru.

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." His heart started to beat faster which was echoed on the cardiograph increasing beeps. Was he finally needed? He dared to hope.

"Konoha is going to attack in a few hours and my new body is with them. Do you think you can capture him?"

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

The Sannin chuckled in his distinctive manner. "You probably won't live long after you capture him. Be sure not to hurt him too much particularly those eyes of his."

"I won't fail you." Kimimaro forced his atrophied muscles to move. Pulling the wires and needles free from himself he stood in front of the man that gave his life purpose and wordlessly followed him out of the room.

Traversing down a long flight of stairs he noticed the transition from cement to simple compacted dirt. This was the newest part of the base and lacked the distinctive musty air. The cavity they entered was large but poorly lit. He could barely make out it sides and the far wall just disappeared into blackness.

"Look up." Kimimaro did as he was asked. Between the pillars there was a slight difference in the color of the dirt. "The lighter colored dirt shows the corridors at the bottom of the false air shafts. Any frontal assault will be a mere diversion. They will try to slip some of their forces in from behind and I'm sure Sasuke will be with them." The Sannin handed him a small headset. "I'll tell you which corridor and where. Incapacitate him and then report to me. This battle shouldn't last long."

"I won't fail you."

"I know. That is why I've kept you alive."

At that moment Kimimaro knew his life had meaning. It was a small task but, to capture a replacement body for Orochimaru was a meaningful goal. His small contribution would lead to Orochimaru's success and in a small way he would be part of that. To live on in perpetuity is what everyone wanted whether it was through founding a village, art or even a family. Every one sought immortality. He meditated on this as he awaited further orders.

An unknown time later the radio crackled to life in his ear, "Fifth corridor from the right fourth person."

Extending the longest bone in his arm to inhuman proportions he pierced the dirt right under the corridor. With effort he used the bone as a primitive seismometer, feeling the vibrations of the people running above. Waiting for the fourth person to pass over, he extended and widened the bone pinching the corridor shut. Using his other arm he repeated the process only this time he did it in front of the fourth person.

The earth suddenly not supported by anything collapsed bringing a person down with it. Disconnecting the extensions Kimimaro addressed his new companion. "You have the honor of becoming Orochimaru's new vessel. I hope you'll come along quietly."

Sasuke Uchiha wasn't quite sure what happened even with his Sharingan activated. One moment he was running down a corridor convinced that the plan was completely and thoroughly screwed. The next minute he felt something erupt from the ground behind him and as he turned his head to see a similar thing happened in front of him. Then the ground collapsed beneath him.

Luckily the fall was a good thirty feet, long enough that he was able to prepare for the landing. Sporadic clumps of dirt fell after him pelting his back. Hearing the voice he snorted not believing his luck and his response was less than civil.

Palming a shuriken he threw it aiming for the man's throat. His target blocked the projectile easily with a blade attached to his arm. No, that wasn't right the blade was coming out of his arm. That had to be a Kekkei Genkai although he had never heard of one that allowed someone to manipulate their bones. Judging by the two partial pillars dangling from the ceiling he could make them quite large and they could exist independent of his body. Well this was going to be interesting.

Darting forward he drew his sword intending to bring it across his opponent's stomach. As fast as Sasuke was Kimimaro was his equal in speed. Blocking with one arm he created another bone sword with his other arm. The sound ninja forced Sasuke's sword up and roll slashing under his guard at the back of his knee going for his tendons.

Rolling away Sasuke sheathed his sword knowing it wouldn't be of any help. He had tried, but yet to succeed at incorporating his chosen weapon into his jutsu repertoire. Before he could formulate a plan his eyes took in his opponent. The signs weren't obvious but clear to his eyes. The man's pulse was rapid and the tension in his muscles was all wrong. He didn't seem to be trying to confuse him like the shadow step attempted to do but, there was something not right with him.

Kimimaro had made two critical mistakes. He had underestimated how badly his body decayed and he had overestimated his own ability to bypass those shortcomings. His muscles were quivering and he felt like he was burning up from the inside. The white-haired teen would've preferred not to use the seal on his neck at least not so soon in the battle but, if this fight became protracted he would not stand a chance.

Accessing the power of the seal he felt a renewal in his strength even as his body protested. Sasuke charged his hand crackling making the cavernous room sound as if a flock of birds had taken up residence underground.

Kimimaro waited until his opponent was in range before extending a rib. Aiming for the raven haired teen's leg it succeeded in tripping his opponent. Unfortunately, as Sasuke fell forward his lightning encased hand still threatened to hit him. The older teen grabbed his opponent at the elbow well above the crackling energy and went to twist and throw.

His opponent erupted in energy that spread across his entire body. The electricity was mild compared to what was held in the raven haired teen's hand but, it was enough to short-circuit Kimimaro brain for a critical second.

Sasuke twisted his body in midair landing on his feet and bringing his chidori into his opponent's side. He ran out of momentum halfway through but, that was enough to destroy his enemy's heart. After a moment he pulled his hand free with a sickening sound. Unsupported the body collapsed and he looked down at his defeated foe. He seemed surprised. Noticing a headset around the corpse's ear he carefully reached down and picked it up.

Being able to tap into the enemy's communications was always a coup particularly in these types of battles. Holding it to his ear he listened for a second but, it must be dedicated since the other end seemed to be dead. He thought about taunting whoever was listening in but that struck him as childish and he had a pretty good idea who it was.

That reminded him of his own radio and he turned the volume back up. "Shikamaru are you there?"

There was a crackle of static and then, "Kind of busy," came over the radio.

Sasuke grimaced, "Listen in the corridor we were separated in, there is a huge room right under it."

"Really," his superior sounded surprised "that's the best news I've heard all day. We'll be down in a few seconds so stand back."

Doing what he was asked he tried to contact the other chunin but, was unsuccessful. That was worrying but, Naruto and Sakura were strong so he wasn't getting too concerned.

* * *

When you cut something's head off it should die. Ino believed that to be a cardinal rule of the world. Of course maybe that didn't count for something that had three heads, well two now she corrected herself. Her opponent had seeped through the ceiling as gelatinous goo and had formed into a vaguely humanoid shape that had three different heads.

She had managed to sever the one on top but, it didn't have the fatal effect that it should of. At least it was confused now not knowing if it should go after her or her two teammates. It just sort of shuffled in one direction and then the other.

"Do you have any bright ideas yet? It's been almost ten minutes."

"Not yet," Shikamaru shouted back. "It oozes out of the Shadow Sewing and stabbing it doesn't seem to annoy it."

Suddenly a tentacle shot out nearly decapitating Ino. She managed to dodge away at the last second. She brought her sword up cutting halfway through the tentacle before it got stuck. This thing had some weird consistency both soft and hard at the same time.

The tentacle yanked her violently lifting her off the ground and nearly pulling her sword out of her hands. Planting her feet on the wall she thrust her sword in the opposite wall. The sword continued to cut through the tentacle as it pulled back until it came to an end. The severed part of the tentacle seems to twitch for a second but; it quickly lost its form and seemed to dissolve into a liquid.

The blonde smirked knowing she'd found out something important. "Shikamaru if you cut off a piece it dies." Her teammate's response was so long in coming that she was tempted to repeat herself.

"Ino I have an idea. Stand clear Choji is coming through."

The blond grimaced before jumping to the ceiling. Even though she had an idea what was coming, the site itself was decidedly unpleasant. Choji rolled down the hallway scraping against the walls. His hair turned to spikes digging into the ground spinning up huge clumps of dirt.

Smashing into the enemy he stopped his forward momentum but continued to spin in place right on top of the thing. Pieces of grayish flesh flew in all directions. The site was disgusting and she pushed herself against the ceiling hoping none of the stuff ended up in her hair. Even after there was clearly nothing of the enemy left Choji continued to spin drilling into the dirt. She glanced over at Shikamaru who was in a similar position to her own. He tried to shout something to her but the noise prevented her from hearing it.

With no warning the floor collapsed revealing a gaping chasm beneath her. She winced in sympathy hearing the crash of Choji hitting the ground. Shikamaru let himself go and taking the hint she followed. Landing with her hand on her sword hilt she was ready for anything but, only silence greeted her. The dimly lit room put her on edge but, what immediately drew her attention were the twin white pillars that dangle at an odd angle several feet from the ground.

"Ino over here."

She turned recognizing Shikamaru's voice. He and Choji were standing next to Sasuke. She ran to meet them stepping around a pale body. Then she noticed that no one else was there. "Where is everybody?"

"We got separated," Sasuke nodded to either the body or the strange pillars she wasn't sure. "I can't reach them on the radio."

Ino had a flash of concern for her friend Sakura but pushed it aside. She had to be fine. "What is our next move?"

"Sasuke and I are going to try to contact the other teams and tell them about this room. You and Choji try to grab a rat or some other small creature you can use your technique on." He raised a hand for stalling her question. "There's a single staircase going up from this room. I'm sure they have a nasty surprise for us and I would prefer not to go in blind."

"Alright," she responded wondering when it becomes second nature to take orders from Shikamaru."

* * *

Naruto crouched his back against the ceiling his feet and hands against the walls. A few feet below his was a slithering mass of hundreds of snakes. One raised its head and he wondered if it was in striking distance. Considering who had summoned them he was pretty sure that they were poisonous but, the furball could probably handle any poison. His two teammates on the other hand were at more risk.

"Sakura can you smash through this thing so we can link up with the rest of our team." Through his anger he had enough sense to wonder what this thing was that had shrugged off his Rasengan.

"No wait," Otonashi interrupted, "we don't know what's on the other side."

"So what," The blonde demanded.

"Otonashi is right. This barrier works both ways. It's keeping us from our team mates but, it also keeping the snakes from them."

"So, what are we suppose to do?" Naruto tried to sound a little calmer but, he was really more frustrated than angry.

"Will contact them and," Otonashi trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked turning to face the Kumo-nin.

The slightly taller teen was feeling around for something before cursing under his breath. "We have a problem. When we all collided my radio fell out of my ear. I think it's buried under a foot worth of snakes."

"So, what do we do," The pink haired kunoichi asked.

The dark-haired teen thought for a second before answering, "Orochimaru is the only known ninja alive that can summon snakes. Knowing that information I should report this to Jiraiya."

"And what should we do?" Sakura asked.

Otonashi thought for a second and then said, "These snakes had to come from somewhere. Try to find out where they came from," The two Konoha-nins nodded in unison, "alright let's get going."

The three crawled along the ceiling mindful that there were hundreds, most likely poisonous snakes only a few feet away. Several times one of them nearly slipped as a piece of the ceiling came apart in their hands. The falling dirt caused an exciting hissing from the snakes as if they could sense a meal was close but, just out of their reach. As a result they advanced slowly always keeping three points in contact with the ceiling.

The slow pace was driving Naruto mad and by the time Otonashi left to go up the shaft he was envying him. Crawling along a ceiling suspended over hundreds of snakes was not exactly how he had pictured this mission going. As a result he almost missed the camera that was just poking out of the dirt. Grabbing it he pulled it free and let it dangle by two braided wires for a second before it fell to the ground.

"What's the holdup," Sakura demanded from behind him.

"Camera," Naruto answered.

His teammate was silent for a minute and then muttered, "That's how they knew."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed, "We were cut off right in front of Sasuke. You probably don't remember but Orochimaru has an interest in him."

"Yeah, I remember he sent some guys to his house only a few days ago."

"Right, well he's probably trying again right now."

The jinchuriki grinded his teeth together, the thought that his friend had been only a few feet away and in trouble almost made him see red. Then he noticed something, "Hurry up I see something." He skittered forward several feet, clumps of dirt raining down on the snake mat beneath them. Getting closer he shouted, "It's a vent."

Naruto taped the inside and found it was metal. Eyeing it he poked his head inside. The shaft was pretty steep and he could see a light at the end of it. "Hey, Sakura I think we could climb inside of this and reach the other end."

"Don't be stupid Naruto, what if we got stuck or some more snakes were sent down it? We would be trapped. Besides we were just ordered to find out where the snakes came from."

The blond nodded and for the first time lied to the love of his life. "I guess you're right, let's hurry up and report this."

The pink haired girl blinked in surprise at how easily he had given in. "Alright then," she started to turn around and that was when he made his move. He gripped the inside of the vent with his hand and then swung up into it. Swarming forward several feet he was quickly out of any potential reach of Sakura.

"Naruto get back here now," she hissed.

He didn't bother responding. Unlike when he had been younger he knew what he was doing was reckless but, he also had a sound reason for it too. Right now their attacking force was bottled up and if he could get behind enemy lines he could disrupt the communications or at the very least cause havoc. Yeah that would sound good to Tsunade when she yelled at him later.

The shaft was fairly narrow and at the rate he had been growing in a year he probably wouldn't have fit in it. He wiggled forward a few inches at a time his chakra preventing him from sliding back down. He had no concept of time but, it only seemed to take a few minutes to reach the top. Pausing for a second he listened for the noise of people but nothing seemed to come down the shaft.

Crawling out he stood to take in the room. It was huge and for brief second he wondered if this had been his original destination. There were lights strung on the ceiling that was easily twenty feet above him and there was a musty smell that offended his nostrils. He lowered his gaze taking in the rest of the room which was empty except for a role of monitors on the far end of the room and one person standing in front of them. Even though it had been years he recognized Orochimaru's back.

Naruto froze even afraid to breathe. The snake Sannin didn't seem to have noticed but, spending enough time around Jiraiya had made him cautious about assuming anything about the three legendary ninjas of Konoha. Despite the tempting target his back made the blond decided to creep along the wall and hoped he wasn't noticed.

"I haven't had a rat problem here in ages." Orochimaru chuckled just like he had in the forest of death the first time they had met. "You're as reckless as Jiraiya but, I wonder if you have the knack for living that he does." With that the man started towards him.

Naruto did what he did best and that was creating Shadow Clones. Over a hundred blondes were now in the room and most of them converged on the snake summoner although two smaller groups formed out of the horde of orange. One group slipped down a corridor hoping to spread havoc somewhere else in the base. The other group of merely three clones avoided the main fight and attacked the monitors hoping to disrupt communications.

The Sannin didn't seem to care as he dove into the crowd. Two large snakes shot out from underneath his sleeves snapping their jaws shut on clones. From there he used them as clubs smashing one row after another of his opponents. The cloud of dispersing smoke became so thick that Naruto lost track of the elderly snake summoner.

He smirked as an idea formed in his mind. Creating several more clones he scurried up the wall onto the ceiling with one of his clones and began preparing a Rasengan. Orochimaru darted out of the dissipating cloud of smoke and Naruto's doppelganger's made their move.

The clones let loose a hail of projectiles that caused the snake summoner to dodge. At that moment of distraction the genin launched his attack. With Orochimaru dodging he jumped down the Rasengan leading the way.

In what seemed like slow-motion the elderly Sannin rotated opening his mouth. The snake that shot out had a Kusanagi in its own mouth. Pulling his legs forward Naruto was able to change his angle just enough so that the sword only nicked his arm and when he smashed into the ground he hit nothing but cement.

Before the blond could even get to his hands and knees he was kicked in his side. He flew across the room until he crashed into the wall and slid to the floor. "Well, that was a nice distraction but, I think it's time we end this."

Naruto's vision was blurry and it looked like three Orochimaru were gloating at him and that was three too many. Strangest of all he heard a croaking sound, like a frog or a toad. His mind suddenly cleared as he realized that wasn't an auditory hallucination. The genin realized that he was at the very spot he had first entered the room at and that toad was telling him to get out of the way.

He smirked using the wall to climb to his feet. "I am Naruto Uzumaki the next Hokage of Konohagakure and I haven't even started to fight yet."


	17. Lucky Breaks

After Naruto's little declaration he ran for all he was worth as snakes shot out from underneath Orochimaru's sleeves. The distance they had to travel allowed the blonde to pick a few off with well-placed shuriken but, most of them he ended up dodging as if it was some twisted version of dodge ball. Each time a snake hit into the wall it rebounded snapping and he had to become innovative to avoid their poisonous jaws.

Between using the Body Replacement Technique and simply running up the wall, he hoped he was keeping the Sannin at least entertained if not distracted. The Pervy Sage was hopefully climbing out of the toad's mouth but, he would be very vulnerable. At least that's how he explained it to Naruto when he had tried to teach it to him. Personally he hoped he never had to use it himself since it was kind of disgusting.

With no warning the snake summoner was engulfed in flames cutting off the near constant stream of snakes that had been attacking him. Naruto stopped catching his breath hoping it might be that easy but, doubting it. The flames dyed down revealing a clone made of earth with globs of oil still burning on it.

The only genin in the room looked around frantically trying to find the snake summoner. "Naruto climb the wall," Jiraiya shouted. Not hesitating the blonde channeled chakra to his hands and feet to scurry halfway up the wall. It was then he heard the sound of many small soft objects hitting the ground.

Orochimaru was clinging to the ceiling disgorging a river's worth of small snakes from his mouth. They spread over the floor slithering to every corner of the room but no further. He was only stopped when he had to dodge a kunai thrown by the other Sannin. The two old teammates squared off suspended over the floor.

"This is the third time we've done this, almost brings a tear to my eye," The creepier of the two said.

"Shut up. We don't have anything to say to each other anymore," Jiraiya tilted his head and addressed his student "stay out of this. Go help the others."

"No, stay. Once I finish off your teacher I can deal with you Naruto." The blonde growled to himself as the two Sannin exploded into motion, he wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

Sixteen that was the number that Shikamaru and himself had managed to contact in the fake air shafts. A disappointingly low number and most noticeable was the absence of his teammates. Every one of them had the same story. Their corridor had been flooded with snakes and those who hadn't been able to block them in one way or another had either been killed or forced to retreat.

"I'm sure they're okay," Ino said from where she stood next to him. "They were probably ordered to pull back by that Kumo-nin."

Sasuke thought about her suggestion. Sakura would follow such an order without question but, Naruto well he thought back on the few missions that they had been on together. In the Land of Waves when Kakashi had been captured neither of them had been willing to retreat and during the negotiations for Kado he had lost his temper. No, Naruto was not good at following orders when emotions were involved. He doubted training with one of the legendary Sannin would improve that habit of his.

"And why do you think I was thinking about them?"

"I am a Yamanaka," she boasted "we're good at getting into people's heads both figuratively and literally. Besides compared to Shikamaru you're easy to understand. You were either thinking about them or hoping that dog Bisuke won't make it back so you don't have to give him a bath."

"Actually I was thinking of having Kado do that for me. He might actually enjoy it." She nudged him which was annoying but, the little dog came hopping down the stairs at that moment and he let it pass without comment. Several of the higher ranking ninjas gathered around to hear the sleepy eye dog's report.

Seating himself at Sasuke's feet he sighed, "There's three of them up there and the slight breeze indicates it's just a straight corridor for awhile. I couldn't hear any wire traps so I think you're safe in that department." The dog done with his report was about to dismiss himself when he suddenly sniffed the air. "This is great news," he turned his sleepy eyes up to the teen who had summoned him "your girlfriend uses the same shampoo as I do. You can just borrow some from her."

"Bisuke you're dismissed," the little scout dog sensing his anger disappeared abruptly in a puff of smoke. To the newly promoted chunin's eternal relief no one seemed to notice the dog's latter statement. That was except for Ino, who was sniffing her hair and muttering something like she smells like a dog. He turned his attention to the developing discussion or argument depending on how you look at it.

"If there are only three of them up there, what are we waiting for? We should just go up and take them out," a young ANBU said.

"Don't be stupid. If we can only attack from one direction they probably intend to use a fire or water based Jutsu to take us out as we approach."

"Can't we use an earth technique to get around them," a youngish chunin asked.

"Only if you know one that can go through reinforced cement," a colleague mocked.

"What about a flash device or something you know to blind them and then attack," a different ANBU stated.

"Quiet," Shikamaru commanded and surprisingly they all fell silent. Sasuke had heard that the lazy chunin had a growing reputation when it came to coming up with plans but, he had never thought that he was starting to carry so much weight.

"Right now they have the advantage holding the higher ground and a choke point which is why they haven't tried to attack us down here. They're probably stationing their forces each man a little further back so, if we don't take them all out quickly we' re dead." Shikamaru unexpectedly turned towards him, "I have a plan but, I'm going to need your eyes."

Moments later Sasuke was creeping up the stairs crouched in an almost crab like position his eyes activated and a Windmill Shuriken unfolded in his hand. Placing his feet on the next step he saw it. At first it was just a distortion in the air but it was pronounced enough that he started to jump back as flames roar down the narrow passage.

The flames were so close that his eyes watered as he focused on them. Jutsu that used fire tended to die quickly unless they could catch onto something that could burn and there was a severe lack of anything combustible in the staircase. However, there were warning signs his eyes could spot because of years of experience with them and this particular fireball was about to reach its pinnacle. Landing he sprung foreword the flames disappearing in front of him like Ramen before Naruto.

Bounding up the steps Sasuke prepared to throw the Windmill Shuriken as he reached the top dozen stairs. It flew awkward with the added weight of the flash grenades on its blades. Hitting the wall it clattered to the ground and he was right behind it.

Landing on the flat ground he dispatched the nearest guard with a simple punch. The man's head rebounded off of the wall and he fell to the ground unconscious. Then the raven haired teen did something you're never supposed to do in a battle, he closed his precious eyes. A half of a second later the first grenade went off filling the dimly lit hallway with a blinding light.

Even through his eyelids shut he could see the flash as a bright white light. Opening his eyes he took in the situation the light still illuminating the hallway. A shadow shot past him splitting into two sections. The two guards were still stunned and he shouted directions down to Shikamaru helping him capture the first guard.

The teen had been counting the seconds in his head and closed his eyes once again as the next flash bomb went off renewing the light. He directed Shikamaru's shadow to the third and final guard. The Uchiha heard the others clambering up the stairs. Then the well laid plans hit the proverbial fan as a fourth guard stepped out around the corner.

Sasuke cursed mentally as his eyes read the end of a very familiar jutsu. He started his own series of hand signs but, the man was as fast as he was and had a head start. The young Uchiha was about to join his ancestors when he was saved by the sudden intervention of the number one knuckleheaded surprising ninja. Naruto caught the man in the throat slamming the enemies head against the wall.

The chunin ran to the end of the hall to interrogate his teammate, "Where the hell did you come from," he demanded.

The blonde looked up at him grinning, "Where all clones come from." Then he got a thoughtful look across his face, "Wherever that is."

He kicked himself mentally now that he looked for it he could see the difference. "Where is the original?"

The orange clad ninja pointed the way he came, "That way. There used to be more of me but we came across some other ninjas and a couple of traps which we deactivated aggressively." Sasuke interpreted that as they set them off by accident. "O crap I' m out," the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I thought I saw Naruto," Shikamaru said running up to him.

"It was just a clone. He said the original is that way."

The other chunin paused before sighing, "It's as good as any direction at this point."

* * *

Karin first warning that something was wrong was a single person on the very edge of her perception coming from the west. That person was quickly joined by several others and then a second group from the north. Briefly a cold fear washed over her as a childhood trauma came to the forefront of her mind. She quickly pushed that memory back into the dark hole where it belonged.

Quickly analyzing the situation she found little hope. A combined force of sixteen ninjas with fairly strong chakra signatures could easily beat herself and the six other guards at the prison. Even if she used her ability to strategically place her forces there was no way she could defeat the oncoming mass of enemies.

Several plans suggested themselves and she quickly examined each one. Releasing the experiments in the lower levels and trying to escape in the ensuing chaos was possible but risky. Most of those experiments knew who she was and those who didn't were so full of murderous rage that they wouldn't care who they killed, particularly that one. She dismissed that idea.

Trying to hide among the prisoners was impossible. They knew who she was and there was a possibility that the individuals coming were not here to liberate the prisoners but, intended to eliminate the entire base. That left her the third option sneaking out and escaping on her own. She grabbed onto this option since it gave her the highest probability of success and allowed her to carry out her orders.

Standing from behind her desk she moved to a tapestry that covered a panel. Flipping a switch she flooded the lower levels where the experiments were kept with a colorless and odorless gas. She felt a pain of guilt but at least Juugo would find some peace in death. From there she left her office for the final time not bothering to collect any supplies. Moving quickly as possible without looking like she was hurrying she headed for the only exit.

"Where are you going," The guard at the entrance demanded blocking her path.

"For a walk," she snapped.

"And since when do you crawl out of your den willingly. Besides nobody is supposed to leave the base," The guard said crossing his massive arms.

Ordinarily the guards did not challenge her, knowing both her temper and the fact that she was there superior but, this guy was new. If he had been here for more than two weeks he would have known better. "Yes I know. I gave the order. I am now rescinding it, get out of the way." That seemed to mollify the man and he stepped aside unknowingly prolonging his life for a little while longer.

Karin trotted up the dozen steps before casually turning to the east. Once out of sight of the guard she broke into a sprint. The enemy was less than a thousand yards away now. North and West were cut off to her making any direct line to Orochimaru's main hideout an impossibility. Instead she headed southeast in the exact opposite direction of where she wanted to go.

The trees almost blurred as she tried to put as much distance between her and the base as possible. She decided to travel southeast for several miles before turning west and then eventually north making sure to give the base a wide berth. Unfortunately, the enemies were going to make her abandon that idea.

The two groups had almost converged on the base but had halted. At first she thought they were just collecting intelligence on the target before moving in but then she noticed a group of four had broken off and they seem to be pursuing her.

She cursed quietly to herself and concentrated on that group. Two of them had fairly well-developed chakra signatures signifying that they were either jonin or high chunin. The third was most likely a low chunin while the fourth was odd. There was something weird about his chakra. Like all living organisms he had some but it was strange undeveloped, like a civilian.

Even as she estimated their strengths they broke into two groups. A potential jonin and the one with the weird chakra sped up. The other two followed but at a slower pace. Since she was already concealing her scent that ruled out she was being tracked by either an Inuzuka or an Aburame. That meant that she was most likely being tracked by a Hyuga. That was assuming these ninjas were from the Leaf and really who else could they be.

Deciding to test her theory she made an abrupt turn to the West. The furthest group corrected first followed by the faster group even before either came across the spot where she had changed direction at. That eliminated any hope that they were just tracking her through normal means. It also told her that the Hyuga was in the second group and they were in radio communication with each other.

This was bad. For a moment she tried to toy with the idea of using some land feature to circle around and take out the Byakugan user but, even forgetting she wasn't much of a fighter there really wasn't anything she could use to accomplish that.

Halfheartedly she changed direction several more times hoping to shake them but had no luck. In a few minutes she would be overtaken and there was nothing she could do about that. Even though she was loyal to Orochimaru she wasn't about to throw away her life in some meaningless act of devotion that he wouldn't even notice.

Coming to a stop she turned and raised her hands in the universal gesture of surrender. Konohagakure did not kill prisoners and ordinarily when they were taking they just ransomed them back to their home village or simply let them go. Otogakure being at war with them meant that was an impossibility but, she could find a way to escape later and until then she could feed them false information but, first she would have to gain their trust.

In less than two minutes the faster group caught up with her. Two green atrocities emerged from the trees. They were so close in appearance that she wondered if they were father and son which could be the only acceptable reason that could justify the twin green spandex uniforms. They circled her warily.

"I am surrendering see my hands are in the air," she wiggled them to emphasize her point.

"Why are you giving up so easily," The older of the two asked.

She shrugged which was odd with her hands still in the air. "I tried to run but, I couldn't get away. I'm not much of a fighter so I surrendered. It's really rather simple. I'm a survivor I will answer any questions you want honestly." The second group caught up to them and she noticed that the chakra equivalent to a jonin was actually the Hyuga which she hadn't been expecting.

"Tell us about the base?"

Karin closed her eyes. "They're unaware of your presence. There are four levels and six other guards each taking an eight hour shift. Two guards are on duty at all times. One is by the entrance and the other is on the second level by the cells. The other two guards are still in the recreation room on the top floor while the last two are next-door asleep. If you're careful you can take them out quietly and quickly. None of them are above chunin in strengths. Oh yeah the bottom two levels are full of poisonous gas"

Silence greeted her recitation until the younger of the two green spandex wearers spoke up. "Guy sensei I do not think anyone would so easily betray their comrades can be trusted."

She was about to snap a reply but the older man cover off. "That is true Lee. However, she may not view them that way. Tenten tie her up and if she's lying she will regret it."

* * *

Author's note: Bisuke is one of Kakashi's dogs most notable for his appearance in the Three-Tails Arrival filler arc and Juugo is not going to die that easily.


	18. A Legend Dies

The two Sannin bounced around the room faster than Naruto's eyes could follow only becoming visible when they clashed before quickly withdrawing. He was trying to spot an opening to attack but, he could hardly keep track of who was who. As always it was galling to know how far he had come and to see how far he still had to go to become the greatest.

Then without warning the ping-pong game ended with Jiraiya on one wall and Orochimaru on the opposite. Suddenly he had an idea and his hands formed a familiar seal. Naruto's clones appeared along the walls. A few of the doppelgangers were too low and the snakes made quick work of them. The rest that were on the same wall as the snake summoner swarmed him or at least tried.

Orochimaru jumped to the ceiling which forced him to turn so that he could keep one eye on his old teammate and the other on the clones that had just attacked him. The clones behind him created a Rasengan before attacking the Sannin's back. He dodged it easily enough which Naruto had expected. However, that was the signal to the rest of the clones to launch their own attacks.

For a moment the black haired man was surrounded by orange. Jiraiya saw an opening that the original Naruto didn't and charged, running across the ceiling with his own Rasengan. For a moment the blonde hoped this was going to be the end of the missing-nin but, without warning wind ripped through the room.

All of the clones near Orochimaru were either ripped apart or knocked to the ground. Naruto himself was nearly blown off of the wall while Jiraiya who had been hit in mid-sprint was falling. Ordinarily such a short drop wouldn't prove fatal but, the snakes were already gathering beneath him. The genin moved faster than he thought was possible. Summoning even more clones he ordered them to dog pile.

Jiraiya landing was softened by a dozen Narutos. Surprisingly he was smiling. "Orochimaru, I can tell you're weaker than usual. That body of yours must be giving you trouble if you want to use your little summoned pets here to finish off me the great Jiraiya." As he spoke the snakes were nibbling away at his platform but, he seemed in no hurry to leave it.

His student had an inkling of what the old pervert was planning and climbed to hang from the ceiling. A second later his sensei joined him on the ceiling before releasing a Great Fireball, incinerating the remaining clones and turning the snakes into crispy critters.

Orochimaru smirked before opening his mouth allowing a snake to escape. The snake interned opened its mouth revealing the damn Kusanagi Sword again. Jiraiya dodge to the left but the snake turned to follow him. Naruto darted forward a kunai in hand stabbing the weapon deep into the snake's body.

The serpent shuddered in pain as his weapon cut through its skin. "Naruto look out."

The blonde jumped to his side as the snake's head flew past him doubling back on itself. It twisted curling around for another strike. It went after Jiraiya and Naruto again and again driving them back every time. Its slithering body formed a wall. There were small gaps between it coils but, these quickly closed as it remained in constant movement preventing either of them from getting around it.

"He's corralling us," the older of the two commented dodging another strike.

"Yeah," Naruto answered.

"I have an idea but, you're going to have to grab the things head," Jiraiya commented.

The genin nodded wondering how he could accomplish that. The snake's head was fast, nimble and had a sword sticking out of it. An idea occurred to the teen but he would have to rely on the nine tails sealed within him to survive it and he was loathed to do , they were running out of room to dodge and then they would be secured anyway.

"Alright I'm going to catch it but, you've got to go right away no matter what happens." Telling the Toad Sage the details of his plan would have just been a waste of time or at least that's what Naruto told himself.

Drawing two kunai he waited until the snake struck at him again. This time he didn't even try to evade it and instead channeled chakra into his feet. Knowing he was about to be stabbed didn't make it any easier on him. The sword pierced his skin the pain was white hot and he was driven backwards even using his chakra to stick to the ceiling.

He drove the two weapons into the snake just behind its head stopping its forward momentum. Jiraiya not knowing his situation darted forward through one of the small holes that would've soon close if the snake could still move.

Naruto couldn't see much but, from the sound of it his teacher was creating a Rasengan of impressive size. The snake who still had his sword in his stomach was finally pulled back even with him holding on to it. Its entire body was flung around the room as if he was caught up in a tornado. Then it vanished and Orochimaru's body hit the ground lifelessly, his clothes were torn asunder and his limbs were twisted in odd positions.

The blonde put his hands over the wound in front of him forgetting about the one in back. The Pervy Sage stood over the body of his former friend for a second before Naruto fell to the ground. He ran towards him and the teen smiled weakly until he saw the body twitch. Opening his mouth to shout a warning he found it impossible.

The snake summoner's neck extended to an impossible length coming straight at Naruto but, it seemed to veer away at the last second disappearing down one of the small shafts. Jiraiya ignored it as he came to his side.

"You have to get him," Naruto forced out.

"Forget him he is too hurt to go far. Damm it what were you thinking?" He demanded applying pressure to the wound on his back.

"I'll be okay. The Kyubi…"

"Might not be able to handle a spinal cord injury so be thankful it just missed it. Haven't I taught you to think before you act yet?"

Naruto chose not to answer as at that moment reinforcements chose to arrive. The young Jinchuriki smiled through the pain. Sasuke could keep his promotion. He had helped defeat a legend in the ninja world. Let him just try and top that.

* * *

Orochimaru's head traveled down the shaft before disgorging his entire body from his mouth onto a mat of snakes. For a minute he was unable to move as the snakes moved over him. They wouldn't bit the one who summoned them but, he was still surrounded by enemies. Forcing himself to his feet he slowly walked down the quarter.

Reaching the air shaft that had once housed a weapon so powerful that even their names had been erased from history he started to climb. It was slow going but, as he climbed he was already figuring out how he would escape from this battle and what he would do next. This was only a setback. He still had resources he could exploit.

He had just reached the top of the air shaft and he was about to pull himself up when a kunai pierced his hand pinning it to the cement. He bit back a scream his nerves extra sensitive from the Oral Rebirth Technique.

"Hi sensei it's been too long." His former student twisted the weapon. "You know I really should thank you for this little seal you gave me. It's like a freaking magnet. Hurts like hell but drew me right to you."

Orochimaru bit back a scream at the tender ministrations of his former pupil. Then he realized this was an opportunity. It was a little early but, given the current circumstances it was well worth the risk.

He looked up ready to begin the transfer just in time to see another kunai slit across his throat cutting through his arteries, esophagus and even scratching the vertebrae in his back. His body fell lifelessly to the ground.

Anko stared down at his body for a minute watching as the snakes covered it. She spat once on it before it disappeared beneath the wriggling masts. The man that had haunted her dreams for years now was dead and it didn't feel as good as she thought it would. At lease the burning in her neck was gone she thought before reporting the news.

* * *

Neji had to admit that the woman's information had proven to be accurate so far. The unfortunate individuals in the lower two levels were either dead or dying. He had deactivated his Byakugan as soon as they had confirmed there were no more guards, unable to watch their suffering any longer. That was the trouble with his eyes, they allowed him to see everything but that didn't mean he had the ability to do something about what he saw.

At least it was a quiet death for them he thought before pausing at the last cell. Peering into the darkened room he noticed this one appeared to be only half filled.

"Who are you?" A wispy voice called out from within.

"I am a chunin from Konohagakure. We have been sent to destroy this facility but, before we do we are releasing every one whether they are civilian or a ninja. Do any of you require medical attention?"

Silence greeted his pronouncement like it had the other times he had given the speech today before someone spoke up. "We're all fine but, Takai over there can't walk. They only dumped him in here yesterday.

Neji nodded and requested a stretcher via the radio. Unlocking the cell door with a clank he let the ones that could walk out, not bothering to point them up the single staircase. Once they were gone he stepped into the cell and knelt by the prone man inside. "Medics are coming you'll be all right." Even as he tried to reassure the prisoner he wondered if his words were true or not. The man looked in pretty bad shape.

Takai opened one of his eyes the other being swollen shut, "Are you really from Konoha?" Others would've answered more elaborately but the Hyuga just nodded barely able to make out his words. "I'm from Iwagakure"

"You will be back there soon," Neji answered trying to anticipate his question.

"No," the man spoke loudly clearly terrified, "he'll kill me."

"Who," the prodigy demanded.

The man seemed to have exhausted himself and his single eye unfocused. At that moment he heard the running feet of the stretcher bearers. A medic-nin entered the cell and headed straight for the prone figure. Lee was right behind him carrying the stretcher by himself.

"This guy doesn't look too good," the medic said quietly almost to himself.

"We have to take him back to the village he has information we need," Neji stated not explaining and truly not sure if they did need it or not.

"Yeah, well I think we can move him. Lee put that stretcher down over here," he was cut off by a loud crashing sound coming from below.

Activating his Byakugan for the first time since the last guard had been dispatched he peered down to the lowest level. There was only one living thing left down there and Neji wasn't even sure if it was still human. What he was sure of was, it was running up from the bottom levels and that couldn't be good. "We have to go now."

They placed the man on the stretcher none too gently and by that time the thing was already on the level right beneath them. The Medic-nin took the front end of the stretcher and Lee the back end as the Hyuga rushed over to the descending staircase hoping to at least stall the thing.

The base had been set up so that the base had one set of ascending and descending staircases on opposite ends of the corridor. Neji hoped to catch the thing in the stairwell to limit its movement but, he was too slow.

The thing bounded up the stairs several at a time. It leapt into the air twisting, its arms and legs transforming into stub hook like objects. They dug into the cement as easy as if it was butter allowing him to scurry along the ceiling. He caught up to the stretcher in seconds before dropping to the ground in front of it. With one swing of his arm he decapitated the medic.

Lee tried to pull the stretcher back but, the thing took one step forward crushing the life out of the man. Again his arm transformed and Neji watched in amazement as his chakra circulatory system changed to accommodate his new appearance.

His teammate attacked landing several blows but, they were ineffective as the huge man seemed to shrug them off. Suddenly their enemy brought his arm sword back and the Hyuga shouted a warning. However, even with Lee's speed he was only saved when the transformed arm got stuck slicing through the bars of a nearby cell.

"Neji, Lee we're coming hold on," Tentencalled descending the staircase with Izumo.

"Do you have any ideas," Lee asked retreating to his side.

"Drop the weights and wait for a chance to get around him."

"I don't think he is going to give us that option," his companion said dropping his weights as the thing freed itself by ripping the bars out of their frame. It took several steps toward them before collapsing to one knee coughing blood.

Behind their enemy Tenten and Izumo sprinted down the hallway. Izumo used the opening in front of him to spew his Syrup Capture Field all over the man making him stick to the floor and anything else he came in contact with. "Go!" The two of them ran before jumping over the sticky mess. Lee had no trouble but the Hyuga almost fell into it. Rolling to his feet he looked back at the man who was changing his appearance again trying to pull himself free.

Tenten smirked, pulling a scroll out of one of her innumerable hiding spots and unrolling it on the floor. At first he wasn't sure what she had summoned but it became clear as soon as the smoke dissipated. It was a series of explosive tags wrapped into a tight ball the size of his head. She gave it a kick with her foot. It rolled down the hall until it ran into the syrup and came to a complete stop.

"Run," the kunoichi shouted as she headed up the stairs.

They ran. Lee free of his weights took the lead easily and that cost him. The layout of the base required them to run directly over the trap man below and he was not done yet. He must've freed one of his arms because it came crashing through the floor as a claw, catching Lee and pinning him against the wall.

His teammates tried to stop and help him but, Lee shouted through the pain, "Go!"

Izumo had to pull Tenten along and Neji had to watch through his Byakugan as his teammate and friend tried to free himself. He was the last out. His foot had barely left the last step when an explosion knocked him off his feet. The ground swelled sending dirt into the air. Recovering he scanned the new crater.

"Is Lee," Tenten trailed off as he shook his head and then she broke into tears.

* * *

Karin had to give credit to the girl who had tied her up. She was creative, if nothing else. One of her arms was tied behind her and the other was in front. A wire was attached to her wrist in front and went behind her neck to connect to her other wrist. Another wire did the same thing to her elbows but went in front of her throat. If she so much as tried to bring her arms to her side she would choke herself and bringing her hands forward to form any seals was out of the question.

As a result she had given up hopes of escaping until later that night. However, it was becoming more and more likely that she would be spending at least some time in Konoha. She was already preparing her half-lies and half-truths for the pending interrogation.

The red-haired teen had not been paying particular attention to the unfolding battle but, suddenly she felt a surge of chakra that both terrified her and thrilled her. Juugo was alive and out of control. If he got out she might be able to escape in the confusion, if he didn't kill her first. Deliberately trying to look calm she focused her full attention on her former most dangerous prisoner.

At this point Karin would have sealed the entrance and cut her losses but, apparently they didn't know Juugo like she did. Instead they sent two more ninjas in to be slaughtered. He quickly killed two of the remaining four people in the base and then something strange happened. The juggernaut seemed to stand still as the others retreated. She couldn't make sense of what was happening which annoyed her. The blast caught her unprepared like it did with everyone else and she was thrown to the ground.

That was actually a blessing in disguise as her arms were placed in an uncomfortable position but, at the same time the wires were given slack and placed in biting range. At that moment she remembered a peculiarity of wire.

It was strong when it could disperse any force placed on it along the entire length but, was easy to cut and when the same force was concentrated by a kunai or under her current circumstances her teeth. Placing the wire around her canine she snapped her head to the side forcing the wire into an almost ninety degree angle. Working it back-and-forth with her tongue it cut into her gums before giving.

"Hey get up," her guard said.

"I would love to but," she paused taking a deep breath before snapping, "that's very hard to do without the use of your arms."

The guard side, "Here I'll help you."

She allowed the guard to help her up. Placing her feet firmly on the ground while remaining crouched she made her move. Without warning she brought her head up into the man's chin. His head snapped back stunned and she used her free hand to jam two fingers into the guard's throat. Unfortunately, her elbows still weren't free and instead of crushing his windpipe she just made him gag and stumbled backwards holding his throat. Not wanting to take the time to finish him off she turned and ran.


	19. One Problem After Another

Sakura made her way to Kabuto's lab. The war between Konohagakure and Otogakure was over for the most part. After Orochimaru had been proven dead the fight had gone out of most of the remaining ninjas. There had been a few diehards but, for the most part they had been dealt with. There had probably been some that had slipped away in the confusion but, they couldn't do much and after realizing the extent of their defeat would probably just fade away.

The only thing left to do was to gather as much information as possible until everything settled down. Orochimaru's head was already on its way to Konoha to surrender whatever secrets they could get from it and she was about to pillage the lab. Since the bulk of the remaining Oto forces were outside being sorted that left their base open for the taking.

It wasn't really hard to find. The egomaniac had put a sign on the door saying Kabuto's lab. For a man who had been a spy for so long he apparently didn't believe in subtlety once his cover was blown. Opening the door she didn't really know what to expect but she wasn't prepared for how ordinary it looked.

It was a long room with bookshelves and Formica tabletops for dissecting animals and a larger stainless steel table for autopsies. If it wasn't for the lack of light and the large clear container of water at the end of the room it could've been a facility in Konoha. Stepping into the room her nose was assaulted with the familiar smell of anti-septic which replaced the stagnant smell of the corridor.

Her first stop was the bookshelves which were filled with anatomy and botany books. She reached for a botany book and thumbed through it, oddly it was a copy of one she had in her room. The only thing different was that it had handwritten notes in the margins. They were mostly add-ons to the text but a few were corrections.

Deciding this was a keeper she put the book down on the table and pulled out a blank scroll ready to seal it inside when a voice called out. "Not that I care but, he's probably going to kill you when he finds out you took something from his lab."

Sakura stepped back from the table startled scanning the room. "Who's there? Show yourself."

The voice laughed, "Oh I like you newbies. I can have a little fun with you when you're alone."

She couldn't determine where the voice was coming from but, she turned on the radio she grabbed before going on her solo mission. "Assistance requested third level lab possible hostile."

"Maybe if you're lucky you'll just become another one of Kabuto's experiments, though that might be worse than death."

"Kabuto has been dead for days and Orochimaru has joined him. Otogakure has surrendered," Sakura shouted to the seemingly empty room.

There was a long silence and then the voice called out again, "Really? Well, if you are taking prisoners then this isn't a rescue party. That would be too much to hope for. That means you must be from Konohagakure."

"That's right. Where are you," Sakura asked hesitantly.

"I'm in the glass prison. I have an ability to turn my entire body into water and that is how they're storing me until they want to experiment on me a little more."

She headed towards the large glass tube warily, "If you can switch back and forth, why don't you just become human?"

"Because," his tone had turned to that of a petulant child like Naruto when they first met. "They're running a minor electrical shock through the inside of the container and I can't transform when I'm being electrocuted!"

"Alright alright, I will let you out." The pink haired teen suddenly had a bad feeling not so much about this guy but about the room in general.

"Good my clothes are in that cabinet and there is a valve on the side. If you open it, I can come out."

Grabbing the cloths out of the cabinet she released the valve and as the water came pouring out she stood back to watch. The water that was pouring out didn't behave like normal water; there was no splashing it just sort of congealed. When the tank was empty the water started to rise slowly revealing a nude male teen about her age. She averted her eyes to his face.

He wasn't bad looking she thought but, when he smiled he revealed that he had serrated teeth like a shark. It was definitely unattractive and it also placed his home village Kirigakure. At that moment the door flung open and Sasuke along with another ninja she didn't recognize burst into the room.

"What's wrong," Sasuke demanded eyeing the newly freed prisoner.

"Sorry false alarm. This guy was a prisoner."

"Experiment," he corrected.

Her teammate visibly relaxed, "Alright we'll take over from here so that you can continue your search."

Sakura hesitated before she asked, "Sasuke could you stick around?" The crush she had had on her old teammate had faded into friendship but, there was something about this room that was putting her on edge. Finding a human in the lab was unnerving.

He nodded in acknowledgment and as the newly freed prisoner and the other ninja left she went back to her work. This time she went to the file cabinets themselves and started reading the files. They were fairly innocuous at first but, then she found what she had been expecting. Human experimentation notes. Individuals with Kekkei Genkai had been experimented on in this very lab. Others without any unique abilities had also fallen victim to Kabuto's experiments. The notes were dry and scientific in their nature but her mind could easily fill in the blanks.

She dropped the file on the floor and then pulled out the drawer dumping its contents. Once it was empty she moved on to the one below it and so on until the cabinet was empty. "What's wrong," Sasuke asked leaning against the far wall.

She didn't answer until she moved on to the next cabinet. "We're destroying everything."

He didn't answer at first and she was on the third cabinet when he asked, "Why?"

"Because," she snapped tears blurring her vision, "nothing good can come from these notes." He didn't join her in her rampage but he didn't try and stop her either. When she turned and asked him to set the papers ablaze he did so without comment. Part of Sakura knew that Tsunade would be disappointed in her but, at that moment she just didn't care.

* * *

Kado blinked trying to see if he had missed any spots. "Do you think they'll notice if we miss a spot? I mean it is white on white." They were outside painting the wall that surrounded the Hokage's Residence. Normally painting a wall the exact same color was difficult enough but, the sun was hitting it just right causing a rather annoying glare.

"This is a mission so do it right," Hoshiko snapped from behind them.

The young Uchiha turned not bothering to hide his annoyance with the kunoichi. "You know there is a third brush you could use to help out."

"I'm supervising," she smiled before glaring, "besides it's your fault where confined to missions that take place near the Hokage Residence."

"My fault," Kado said raising his voice. "How is it my fault that I have a relative that is a psychopath?" He pointed his paintbrush at her to emphasize his point and a glob of paint flew off of the bristles. The white glob arced through the air before coming down on Hoshiko's shirt.

She looked down at the spec of white against her black T-shirt. She wiped it off with a finger and glared at him. "Ranmaru can I borrow your brush," it was phrased as a question but, before he could answer she yanked it from the smaller boy's hands.

"Hey, I'm sorry. It was an accident," Kado said holding his hands up and taking a step away from her.

She nodded and twirled the handle of the brush in her hand. "I know and so is this," with a quick flick of a wrist she splattered paint on her teammate.

The genin winced as the cool liquid splattered across his face. He paused counting to ten in his head, "What I did was an accident. That was malicious, just like this is." His paintbrush slashed across her face leaving a white streak from just under her right eye to her chin.

She blew out air between her clenched lips which set tiny droplets of paint flying, "You do realize this means war."

What ensued would be best described as a knife fight with paint brushes. She slash, he parried and then countered attack. Both of them got paint on each other and sometimes it was from their own brunches. Then a voice shouted at them, "Hey get back to work or I'll report you."

They both turned towards the voice simultaneously. Kado pale under the ice cold eyes of a Hyuga wearing a chunin vest. There was a man standing next to him dressed in very expensive clothes and carrying a large role up piece of paper under his arm. "Right," he chirped grabbing Hoshiko's wrist before running back to where they had been painting.

Both of them started painting feverishly redoing work they had already done. Kado noticed from the corner of his eye that Ranmaru was just staring at the men as they disappeared into the building. "Get to work," he hissed. "That was a Hyuga. He might still be watching us."

"Something's wrong," Ranmaru stated seriously. His eyes turned crimson for a few seconds and then added, "That man is hiding something."

"Just leave it be. He was with a Hyuga, that means they know about it already," Hoshiko muttered.

"They're too tense. Maybe the client would be but, not the ninja." Unpredictable as always he broke into a trot heading for the entrance.

"Ranmaru," the young Uchiha side as his teammate ignored him.

"You know he tends to be right." His only remaining teammate shrugged under his scrutiny, "His eyes are useful unlike yours." She shoved her paintbrush into his chest, "See ya."

The bastard Uchiha made a very simple calculation in his head. If two of his teammates were to get into trouble while on a mission, so would he. His sensei would say that he should've talked them out of it or because she had a sadistic streak a mile wide for symmetry. However, if there was something going on well then he might be a hero. In fact that was the only way he would escape punishment, "Wait up."

The trio of stalkers discovered almost immediately that they had a problem. The Hokage Residence was a combined government facility and private residence. As a result it had certain design features such as long hallways that made it easy to spot a tale. If that wasn't bad enough the floors seem designed to squeak.

Ranmaru's only hope of getting a better look at what the man was carrying was when they rounded a corner. Whenever that happened the lavender hair boy would sprint forward his eyes glowing in a futile effort to get a glimpse at what was concealed beneath the rolled up paper. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough.

After about the third time this happened Kado whispered. "Why don't you just go up to him and take a look? They probably won't even notice."

"Idiot," Hoshiko answered.

"Hey, it's not."

"No, you are," Ranmaru chirped. "I'm not positive but, I think it looks like something I have seen before." They continued to play the game of cat and mouse until the pair stopped at the door and the chunin knocked before entering. "That's the Hokage's office."

The youngest Uchiha cursed under his breath as his small friend sprinted forward abandoning any attempt at stealth. He followed. The boy paused at the door and his normally placid expression twisted into something unfamiliar as he shouted, "Assassin."

Kado caught up to Ranmaru as he flung the door open with a kunai in his hand. They both froze for a second at the scene that unfolded in front of them. If it wasn't for his Sharingan he wouldn't have known what to make of the situation.

The man with the roll of paper dropped it while raising his hands into the air. A quarter of a second later the Hyuga jumped up onto the desk. At first Kado thought he was trying to interpose himself between the presumed assassin and the village's leader but, then he struck at her. The Hokage who had been standing to greet her visitors kick forward sending the man and the desk flying end over end.

The desk crashed into the other man sending him sprawling. Doing a handspring the Hyuga who was apparently the real assassin sprung forward going after Tsunade. She blocked the blow with her forearm but, as he was using the Gentle Fist chakra ripped through her arm.

The traitorous assassin struck again and this time he would've penetrated her guard but, Ranmaru had finally snapped out of his surprise and threw his kunai. It struck his target in the arm deflecting the deadly blow. Tsunade lashed out with her good arm but as she was off balance it was easily dodged.

It was then that Kado did what he would later consider, one of the dumbest things in his life. Darting forward he put himself between the villages leader and the assassin. The Hyuga spun pulling out the weapon he was about to throw it when the window burst into a thousand shards of broken glass. Noise and light filled the room before the source of it was plunged into the Hyuga.

Kado recognize the Chidori. Sasuke had shown it to him once and he had attempted to copy it but had no affinity for lightning. Since the other Uchiha wasn't currently in the village that meant it had to be.

"Sorry I'm late but, I hate stopping in the middle of a paragraph," even though he had only one eye showing Kakashi seemed to smile. "Are you all right?"

For a second Kado thought that he was talking to him but, a voice came over his shoulder, "Nothing I can't heal."

The Jonin nodded almost in perceptively and then added, "You can stand down now."

That comment was directed at the youngest Uchiha as he realized he was still in a fighting stance. He blushed sheepishly and turned to look at the room. It had been thoroughly trashed by a fight that had lasted no longer than thirty seconds from start to finish. Hoshiko was holding a kunai to the well-dressed man's throat who seemed to be unconscious and Ranmaru was trying to free something from under the desk. With a shift of the desk he freed a large metal object.

"Careful that could still be dangerous," Kakashi warned.

"A musket," the Hokage muttered, "bastards."

"That guy was probably going to take a crack at you and then this guy would've come in to either kill him or finish you off," the massed Jonin said nudging the body on the floor.

"Since they would have that guy's body they probably wouldn't look too closely into it. If anyone bothered with an autopsy they probably wouldn't notice that a Gentle Fist move killed me. Of course they didn't know you were watching over me or that these genin would get involved. How did you know something was wrong," she asked looking over to them.

Hoshiko glanced over at Ranmaru and judging by the confused expression on his face so did everyone else. Not used to being the center of attention he seemed to retreat into himself and Kado had to take pity on him. "We saw the two of them go into the building and Ranmaru said that they didn't look right. So, we followed them then he saw that," he gestured towards the musket that was now on the ground.

"Right, I'm going to want a more detailed report later. Kakashi help me with our guest over there," she gestured towards the unconscious body. "As for you three I have a very important mission for you. I want each of you to go to a gate and deliver this message to whoever is in charge at the moment. Say there was an assassination attempt on my life but I'm alive and able to carry out my duties. We've captured one of the two assassins alive. Do not give any more details, that is a direct order. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," the three echoed before running to carry out her orders.

* * *

Naruto was exhausted which was a rare state for him. Then again it wasn't everyday that a sword skewered him either. Still, he had recovered enough to start feeling slightly annoyed that Jiraiya was getting the lion's share of the credit for killing Orochimaru. It had been a team effort and really neither of them had delivered the final blow.

He sighed before doing the final check of his equipment. Unlike everybody else team seven had been ordered to return to Konoha as soon as possible. It had something to do with Sakura or something he really hadn't been paying attention when he had been told why. Just about everyone else would follow later that day except for a few teams. They were going to stay behind and help what was left of the Sound village organize.

"Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?"

Naruto turned to face Otonashi and forced a tired smile. "Well, I didn't know where you were. Last time I saw you, you were going to get help."

"I did. I just wasn't crazy enough to climb up that little shaft." The Kumo ninja came closer and lowered his voice, "How are you feeling? Has your tenant really healed you?"

"Yeah, sometimes the worst the wound is the faster I'll heal. It hurts but," he shrugged.

"You mind," Otonashi asked holding up his hand glowing with healing chakra. Naruto didn't object and he took that as an invitation to place his hand on the genin stomach. "I'm not a medic yet but, diagnostic jutsu are pretty simple."

Naruto chuckled as the chakra tickled him but, then saw the serious expression on his friend's face. "Is something wrong?"

His friend shook his head, "Nothing unexpected. When somebody uses chakra to rapidly increase the rate of cellular mitosis it generally temporarily increases the rate of apoptosis. Don't worry though I don't think you're in any danger of ischemia."

The orange clad genin blinked, "What?"

Otonashi smiled trying to gloss over what he said, "Forget it. It's not important. Just don't make a habit of relying on it. That reminds me there are a couple of stories floating around about what happened down there. You'll be glad to know that in all of them you get stabbed to some extent."

"So what?"

"Well I can't speak for Sasuke but, Sakura strikes me as the curious type. Do they know about your tenant," his friend finished with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto felt a little sick at the thought. "No, I told one of my friends back in the village but that's it."

"How did he take it?"

"Good I guess."

The taller teen nodded, "Yeah well for what it's worth I think they will take it fine. It's not really a big deal. Of course if you come to my village you can avoid the whole awkward conversation altogether."

"I'm not defecting Otonashi."

"I'm just throwing it out there." They both laughed although Naruto didn't think it was that funny. "Well maybe we'll run into each other again."

"Yeah, I just hope we are not on opposite sides of a mission." The blonde held out his hand and his friend took it. After a moment the Kumo ninja turned and walked away leaving the genin to ponder how he should tell his two teammates.

He didn't have long to think about it as Sakura storm passed him announcing that they were leaving. Sasuke was a few steps behind her and he asked him, "What's up with her?" The inscrutable chunin gave an inscrutable shrug leaving Naruto to fall back on Jiraiya's advice. Sometimes women are just crazy.

Sakura set a fast pace. They blew by a member of an ANBU team who called out, "Good job today Naruto."

The blonde did a double take at that as Sasuke asked him, "You know somebody in the ANBU?"

It took him a second to place the voice, "Sort of I know his daughter."

Sasuke was silent for a second before asking, "That was Moegi's father?"

"Yeah, how do you know her?"

"Idiot, Kado is friends with her and those other two she's always with. When all five of them visit him, I'm envious for the days I was alone." Naruto thought about what his friend had just said for a second and then started laughing so hard he almost missed a step. "What's so funny," the raven haired teen asked.

He wiped away a tear, "I'm just picturing you with six eleven-year-olds running around your house. It makes me fear for your children."

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped.

On their way to the base they had taken a rather circularity route but, on their way home they made a straight beeline for Konoha. That made the scenery different which Naruto tried to enjoy since Sakura was in a mood and his other teammate was well Sasuke. After a few hours they came to the river that functioned as the border between the two countries. Last time it had not been really that difficult to cross but, this time there was a small valley.

As they descended the steep sides Naruto looked upstream and notice something through the mist. "Hey, there are some huge statues over there."

His two teammates paused before crossing the river and looked at where he was pointing. "That's weird," Sakura spoke for the first time in an hour, "why would anybody build statues in the middle of nowhere?"

"Doesn't that one look like the first Hokage? I think I recognize him from the monument. We should check it out," Naruto exclaimed like he was eight years old again.

"We don't have time."

"Oh come on Sasuke, loosen up a little. We can spare a few minutes to take a look at it. Besides it's not like we'll be out this way again anyway, right Sakura?"

"It isn't like I have anything to report anyway," she said in support of his idea.

"Quiet," Sasuke gestured for silence by holding up a hand.

Naruto was about to snap at his friend for talking to Sakura like that but, then he heard something. He didn't know what to make of it at first but then he felt a vibration through the ground. Without warning a wall of water crested over the top of the waterfall before it crashed to the ground making a noise as loud as thunder.

* * *

Authors note: Originally I was going to call this chapter 'If It Is Not a Snake Summoning Sannin Trying to Destroy Your Village It's A Cane Wielding Cyclops Trying To Take Your Village Over' but I decided that was too long.


	20. Big Fight

The torrent of water tore through the small valley roaring as loud as thunder. It scraped the walls picking up loose boulders, tossing them like pebbles. There was nowhere to run. Naruto only had enough time to raise his hands in an ineffectual defense before it was upon him.

When the water smashed into him it felt like he had run into a cement wall. It knocked the wind out of him and lifted him up before slamming him hard against something else. The world almost went black but, he fought to remain conscious. A second later he slammed into the cliff again but, this time he was able to use his chakra to grip it.

He poked his head above the water in time to see Sakura being swept away in the middle of the stream unable to grab onto anything. Letting go of the rock with his hands he was almost ripped away by the current but, he did have enough time to form the hand seals he needed. Clones stretched across the width of the valley, each one of them grabbing and holding onto the ankles of the one in front of them forming a chain.

They caught Sakura and both of them held on for their lives. Naruto's head remained underwater. His lungs burned for oxygen they couldn't have. The darkness crept in and his world was starting to turn black again.

An uprooted tree slammed into the center of his chain taking out several clones. More importantly it severed the chain and Sakura was on the far side. The remaining clones on her side held onto her even as they were battered against the cliff like a flag in the breeze.

As suddenly as the wall of water hit him it disappeared. Sliding to the ground Naruto gulped lungs full of life-giving oxygen and looked over for Sakura. She was a little further downstream soaked to the bone but climbing to her feet. He started to run over towards her when she shouted, "Don't take your eyes off the enemy."

The blonde turned halfway across the river and looked up. On top of either of the mammoth statues stood two men cloaked in all-too-familiar garb. The growl that emanated from Naruto's throat was almost animalistic. Sensing his teammates approach he snapped, "Where is Sasuke?"

"I don't think the wave hit him." She paused for a heartbeat, "Naruto do you know who those two are?"

He nodded then remembering her rebuke from earlier said, "Yeah, one of them is Kisame Hoshigaki a.k.a. Fish Face. Ranmaru told me about him. The other guy is Sasuke's brother."

The medic inhaled sharply and was silent for a second. "Well, Sasuke is going to go after his brother which means we have to take out the other guy." As she spoke one of the figures descended the statue in several jumps. "Anything more you know about this Fish Face guy?"

Naruto scoured his memory for a half forgotten conversation he had with the strange boy. "He was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and has a huge chakra capacity."

Sakura cracked her knuckles as the man began to approach them at a leisurely pace. "So, this is what, the third guy we've run into from that group. Did any of them stay loyal to the Mist?"

Before Naruto could respond the blue man shouted from maybe fifty yards away, "I knew that wouldn't kill you. Although, I did think it would take her out." He laughed a harsh loud thing as Naruto created twenty clones, "Lord Jiraiya won't be saving you this time."

The doppelgangers attacked in what appeared to be a disorderly mob. A single clone held back and transformed into a large shuriken showing that the genin did have a plan. The enemy was obscured from his vision for a second as the clones attempted to pile on. A second later they were ripped apart when Kisame swung his Samehada.

For a second as the tall man brought the sword across his chest there was an opening. Naruto flung the oversized shuriken aiming for the center of his chest. Off-balance the target either had to let go of his sword or dive to the side.

He chose the latter and the blonde jumped above him throwing three kunai. The target twisted around in an impressive display of strength deflecting them with his sword but, that left him open to Sakura's attack. She threw a single kunai at his side. With her enhanced strength the simple weapon would've gone in one end and out the other but, he sunk below the surface the weapon colliding harmlessly with the sword.

Naruto had landed on the cliffs face and from his perch scoured the area for the missing Akatsuki member. Sakura was still standing on the river and jumped just before the water exploded from beneath her. A column of water shot into the air as high as the cliffs before collapsing back down revealing Kisame examining his sword. He held it up revealing that Sakura's kunai was partially embedded in the blade, "Do you know how hard this is to get repaired?"

The genin gritted his teeth as he realized that this man was just playing with them, "You won't have to because I am not letting you get away."

"Naruto wait," his teammates shouted before he could jump down. "We need to lure this guy away from the water. Retreat into the woods."

Instinctively he didn't like the idea of retreat but even after they finished off this guy, there was still Sasuke's brother to deal with. Itachi was dangerous. Jiraiya had made sure to drive that into his head pretty thoroughly, "Fine."

They were almost about to crest the ridge when there was a roar of water from behind them and a column of water cut them off. Naruto was shoved to the side by Sakura just as another column of water cut through the air where he would have been. Then the blonde noticed the shape of the water as one of the columns turned revealing a distinct dragon's head.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique he had seen it before but, it had been years and never had he seen someone controlled two of them at the same time. The first dragon bore down on him as he fell to the river below. It would have overtaken him but, in a desperate attempt to avoid being hit he summoned a clone at his feet. Using it as a springboard he changed the direction of his fall.

As the water dragon turned to follow him part of its body scraped a rocky outcropping gouging chunks of granite free. Naruto landed on almost the opposite side of the river dodging immediately allowing the dragon's head to smash into the river before rising again. From where he was he could see the second column of water twisting around presumably chasing Sakura.

Naruto started to run up stream crouched keeping an eye on the deadly column of water chasing him. He was about to create another horde of clones to either confuse the dragon or hopefully circle back and attack the one controlling it when for the second time that day he was unexpectedly surrounded by water. After a second of confusion he looked around frantically. Through the blurry vision of a fish he saw Kisame standing over him.

He lashed out but the edge of the water was like cement. A part of his mind that still had enough oxygen realized that he had been caught in the same technique that had captured his sensei on his first real mission all those years ago. His insides felt like they were crawling as his body demanded to breathe. Naruto's legs kicked out uselessly hitting the edge of the invisible sphere. It was then a very strange thought occurred to him.

Biting his thumb he went through the necessary hand seals before slamming his hand against the invisible surface. Naruto still wasn't good at summoning a particular toad for a particular purpose but he put all his chakra into it aiming for a big one and that's exactly what he got.

The water prison disintegrated unable to hold the massive toad that had suddenly appeared. If the water clone had been a real person it would've been smeared against the walls. The boss toad shouted, "Naruto, why the hell would you summon me in such a tight space?"

Gamabunta shifted his weight his massive shoulders scraping against the cliffs. The young summoner shouted breathlessly from the top of the reddish-brown toads head, "Sorry boss but, these two Akatsuki guys are giving me a lot of trouble."

"Akatsuki," the giant toad gave a long exhale of smoke from his pipe, tingeing the air with the smell of tobacco for a mile around, "what do you want me to do about it."

The blonde stomped his foot forgetting where he was for a moment, "I don't know. Step on them for all I care."

"Watch your tongue boy, you still can't drink."

"What does that have to do with anything right now?" Gamabunta only response was to shift his weight again before jumping. As Naruto was pressed against the toad's body he remembered how difficult it was working with this toad.

* * *

Kisame Hoshigaki had been asked by his partner if he could keep the two genin occupied while he had his second family reunion. That meant he had to deal with the Jinchuriki alone. Ordinarily this would have been annoying but, when he saw the ambush spot he was confident that he would be able to capture the nine tails without much trouble. A few seconds ago he had, leaving only the girl to cause trouble.

Then there was a loud crack from upstream as air was suddenly and violently displaced. A large quantity of smoke was slowly dissipating and before it could finish a large wave swept beneath him. The missing-nin allowed his second Water Dragon to collapse having already chased the kunoichi a half a mile downstream. The summons was large and that meant this battle was going to be fun.

Without warning the toad jumped high into the air and he followed it with his eyes. When it started coming back down he had to run. The massive beast landed on its front legs paralleling the cliff. It weighed many tons and as a result a portion of the cliff collapsed sending tons of debris crashing into the river.

Kisame was halfway up the opposite cliff when he suddenly jumped into the river diving below the surface. The action was out of instinct honed from decades of battles and they were proven right. A giant sphere of water slammed into the cliff where he would've been. If that had connected with the shark like man he would've been like a fly being swatted.

Beneath the surface of the water he was safe, it was almost natural to him he could even breathe. These few seconds of calm allowed him to realize his mistake. The creature that had been summoned was huge and powerful but, one of those advantages could be easily turned against him.

The first jutsu he performed was a simple Hidden Mist Technique. However, it was on a massive scale and it obscured the entire bottom of the valley. The toad fired his technique several more times and Kisame could feel the impact of it around him. Ignoring it he prepared for his second technique opening his mouth he disgorged an impossible amount of water. His chakra capacity made this easy to do even though it was the second time today.

Creating the water was simple enough but, keeping it from going down stream required a little more concentration. Within a minute he was ready. He rode the sudden swell of water emerging from the mist, cresting and then crashing over the top of the cliff. Continuing to ride the water he was carried over the ground until he could jump onto the toad's leg. Landing on the toad's knee he flipped onto its back.

The fleshy ground bucked and shook beneath him but, all the Akatsuki member had to do was channel chakra to his feet. When the beast stopped shaking an avalanche of doppelgangers came down its back led by the pink haired teen. He didn't remember her jumping onto the toad but she must've done it while he was under water.

The former member of the Seven Swordsmen created two water clones of his own and met them halfway. He brought his sword up to block a blow from the kunoichi as she jumped over head slashing down at him. The move was simply design to get behind him so that he would be caught between the two of them but, he had one of his clones go after her negating their pincher movement.

Kisame and his other remaining clone slashed through the horde of orange. There was something distinctly unsatisfying about destroying mindless doppelgangers and as he traveled upwards he started to notice something. There was no variety to the attacks. True they were attacking from all angles but, no weapons or any Ninjutsu. It was strange. The ground shifted under him slightly and he thought little of it until it was literally ripped away from beneath him.

Like many summoned creatures Gamabunta wore clothes. As the former Mist ninja had battled his way up the toad's back he had without thinking stepped upon his kimono. The shift he had felt earlier was the toad shrugging out of one of his sleeves and then he had jerked it off. He threw it to the ground along with about twenty clones.

The Akatsuki member flew through the air caught up in the folds of the kimono. Slicing himself free hardly helped the situation as he was still plummeting to a ground at a dangerous speed. Throwing his sword in front of him, it cut a path through the trees. When Samehada hit the ground it also softened it allowing him to land safely.

Before he could pull himself out of the knee-high dirt the toad spat something. The foul-smelling liquid coated him and the ground around him. He had to use his sword to pull himself free. A second later there was an explosion behind him that ignited an inferno. The fire was putting out enough heat that there was a real possibility that the oil on his clothes would spontaneously combust.

Kisame was now thoroughly pissed. He was just about to disgorged another thousand gallons of water when he had to jump back to avoid a hail of shuriken. Glancing in the direction the projectiles had come from he froze as a man in an ANBU mask stared back at him. The former Mist ninja did a quick calculation in his head. He was now facing a Jinchuriki, a giant summoned creature and now ANBU all while he was coated in a flammable liquid. Three out of four he could handle but, he had not lived this long without knowing when to withdraw from a fight.

* * *

Sasuke's three tomoe gave him the ability to read the movements of the wave as it came tearing down the valley. Something that Kakashi had once told him came back to him at that moment, "If you're falling off of a cliff, you might as well try and fly." At the time the Uchiha had filed it away under useless quotes that his sensei had said but, with several tons of water rushing down at him he finally thought he understood.

Using the gift from his ancestors he searched the water for calm patches that could support him. They existed for only a fraction of a second which meant he would have to anticipate them. Channeling chakra he jumped towards the center of the valley connecting with a wave just as it started to crash. He jumped again over another wave and then again. Within a few jumps he was on top of the raging water and almost immediately started to sink.

Using the Body Replacement Technique he was able to cling on to the cliff just above the water. He paused for a second looking for the bobbing heads of his teammates but, the water was churning too violently. Despite the situation he wasn't overly concerned for them. Naruto was too stubborn to drown and Sakura had improved by leaps and bounds since their early days. They would be washed downstream where an enemy was probably waiting for them.

He climbed the rest of the way up the cliff before ducking into the trees and heading upstream. Somebody had attacked them from that direction and they would know what was going to happen downstream. These were probably some diehards from Sound attacking the first Konoha ninjas they had come across. Then he saw the two figures appear on the top of the statues and he abandoned his former plan. His brother was here.

A part of the prodigies mind wondered why he was here now but, that was completely irrelevant. Sasuke had never given much thought to why his brother had been after Naruto the last time he had seen him. Kado had shown up shortly thereafter which had caused numerous problems and then the samurai uprising had started after that. It had been easy to put that fact to the site and forget about it. Now it didn't matter he would kill him.

Racing through the trees he kept his eyes on the shorter man. When Itachi's partner jumped down to the valley he increased his speed wanting to catch him while he was alone. Mentally he prepared to use the Shadow Step the only technique that could confuse the Sharingan. Unfortunately, he still had not mastered it but, his spar with Ino had made him realize something.

Part of what made the Sharingan fearsome was its ability to read movements. In truth anyone could develop that skill with enough time and patience but, his family's Kekkei Genkai was like a shortcut. To counter this ability somebody had discovered a way to threw off the eye.

Ordinarily when he had his eyes activated there was something like an aura surrounding an arm before a punch. When used properly the Shadow Step increased the size of this aura making it almost impossible to predict. Among non-Sharingan users the effect was more subtle but, it still tricked the mind if only on a subconscious level.

Ino had used this on him once to devastating effect but, she had only mastered one small movement. Still she had manipulated him in to a position where she could use it. He was going to do something similar.

Circling around his target he paused and resisted rolling his eyes. It was a simple trap but, recognizing it as one made it easy to use it. Pulling out a kunai from his pouch he quietly drew his sword concealing the smaller weapon with the hilt of the other. The clone kept his back to him and he crept along until he was within a reasonable striking distance. Springing forward he slashed through the insubstantial clone.

"Apparently you've only grown in height and not skill my little brother," Itachi's all-too-familiar voice came from behind him.

Not turning around Sasuke allowed his blade to drop to one side loosely holding it in one hand. Before he did that he palmed the kunai into his other hand concealing the entire motion from his brother, "I've grown."

"No, you have not. I told you, until you have eyes like mine there is no chance of you defeating me." His opponent paused for a brief, but noticeable second. "I've remove one of the obstacles in your way."

For a brief second the younger of the two brothers worried for Kado but, he kept his voice calm. "And what obstacle was that?"

"He was unworthy of the family name. He died alone in the exact same place as our parents," Itachi answered.

The younger brother smiled noticing the needless drama, "You're lying. The chances of Kado not having any of his friends over while I'm gone are about as good as your chances of walking away from this battle."

The battle had been unfolding beneath them this entire time and Sasuke had been watching it with his eyes, allowing his other senses to pinpoint his opponent. As he watched an orange figure disappeared into a sphere of water and for a second he was about to jump down to help out but, then there was a crack and a huge cloud of smoke. Leave it to Naruto to provide the perfect distraction even if it was unintentional.

Spinning he concentrated on the movements in his arm trying to confuse any visual clues in his muscle tension. Letting the kunai fly he followed behind it raising his sword to cut his brother down. Itachi blocked the flying projectile with his own kunai and then attempted to block the sword with the same weapon and for the first time in over a decade he misjudged.

Sasuke brought the sword down intending to sever the hand but, instead of a clean-cut it felt like he had hit an armor plate. Rolling with the blow his opponent lashed out with a kick to his back that knocked the younger several feet away. They spun to face each other again having only exchanged places.

The mass murder raised his arm allowing his sleeve to fall back revealing a small shuriken holster on his wrist. There was a small cut where his younger brother's blade had drawn blood. In the distance the ground shook as the other battle continued. "The Shadow Step, impressive but, like your Sharingan it's not fully developed. Are you capable of accomplishing anything?"

The younger teen didn't rise to the bait and for the first time realized how odd it was that his brother would play such a mind game. Now that he thought about it he had been too talkative. There was something not right here and it was not a Genjutsu. He took a step back followed by another. Pushing those thoughts to the side he prepared to use a Chidori.

His brother just stared back at him his eyes reflecting the lightning crackling around Sasuke's hand. When he started his charge small vortexes of water shot out from the river screwing up his approach allowing his older brother to jump over him. The young avenger was forced to dodge and ground his attack into the stone creating significant cracks.

Pulling his hand free he flipped onto the statue not wanting his opponent to see his back. Almost simultaneously a voice called out, "Finish this up. We have to withdraw."

Itachi's eyes narrowed in anger something the younger had only seen once before. "Sasuke if you have not acquired the same eyes as I have by the next time we meet, you will die." Before his brother could even respond black flames raced across the cracks in the statue. Almost instantly the stone became superheated and cracked under the stress of its own weight sending most of the head tumbling down the cliff.

The ground slipped away from beneath Sasuke's feet so fast that he slipped into freefall without warning. For a second he flailed his arms his sword flying out of his hand. Then he hit the water on his back and the wind was forced out of him. The statues' head splashed into the water only a few feet away. At first the water pushed him away, but then he was pulled back as the water filled the void. He flowed with the current kicking off the stone as it sank.

His head broke the surface of the water and he channeled chakra to his hands and feet climbing onto the surface of the water. When he tried to stand pain shot up and down his back and the slight pain in his head turned into a pounding although that could have been due to the waterfall.

"Sasuke," his name was elongated in the annoying fashion only Naruto could produce. Looking down stream he saw both of his teammates running towards him. Turning away he craned his neck upwards to where his brother had been. The decapitated statue still burned with black flames.

"I'm going to do a quick diagnosis to see if you were injured in that fall."

Pulling away from his pink haired teammate he demanded, "Why did they withdraw?"

Naruto didn't pick up on his tone and smiled as he answered, "It was Sakura's idea. I created a bunch of clones and sent most of them after Fish Face. A few of them slipped away into the woods and transformed themselves into ANBU. Once he saw them he turned tail and ran. Of course, he was also soaked in oil and near an open flame."

"I had him," Sasuke snapped. He tried to stand to walk away and pain shot through him. It was strong enough that he lost control of his chakra for a second and sank below the surface again.

A hand pulled him to the surface and Sakura snapped, "You need medical attention, stay still."


	21. Waiting

Danzo sat in a garden of a neglected manor fifty miles south of Konohagakure. The owner had fallen on hard times and was unable to maintain a summer residence but, was apparently unwilling to part with it. If the elderly man was inclined to turn around he would see the diminution of time on the once grand structure.

Numerous weeds grew from the roof some clearly there from last season. Windows were broken, shoji screens torn and grime marked the building. Not that he had to turn to see the damage time had wrought. The once carefully kept rock garden had been left to return to a truly natural form. Wind had blown the majority of the sand into a corner where ants had made a home. Like all things it reminded him of Konoha.

Not that that was unusual. Everything seemed to remind him of Konoha these days. Given current events it was unlikely that the village would survive the next ten years. They were simply too weak. The Sand Sound invasion, the samurai uprising and now this protracted war with Sound had taken their toll. The fact that they had to make an alliance with another village to eliminate Sound was proof of how weak they had become.

In reality the Fifth did recognize this to an extent and he did approve of some of her actions. Allowing particularly talented students to take the field early had already proven its worth. Centralizing power with the office of Hokage was an action he would've approved of, if she had the steel to do what was necessary. Unfortunately, she did not and he had been left with no choices.

After she was assassinated Homura and Koharu would appoint him as her successor and then he could do what was necessary to save the village. There was a possibility that they would double-cross him, but that was unlikely since any of the other acceptable candidates would be a lot more like the Fifth or the Third. He also had one more advantage in his favor. His advanced age meant that his rule would be short. History would judge him harshly but, a true leader could not care about his posterity.

Soft steps pulled him out of his thoughts as Hyo one of his younger ANBU walked down the stone path knowing not to come up on his blindside. He kneeled on one knee and Danzo turned his head slightly towards the man, "Report."

"The assassination of the Fifth has failed. One of the assassins was captured alive although we do not know which one."

The elderly man's only acknowledgment of the devastating news was the tightening of the grip on his cane. The outcome had been a possibility but, remote. The chances of both assassins failing were astronomically small and yet they had. "There is no choice than we must seize power by force."

"You intend an open coup d'état," the man question.

Danzo almost frowned down at the man, "Yes."

As the leader of Root spoke the man lowered his head and stood taking a step back. His actions immediately drew the ire of Danzo but before he could rebuke the man he felt a stabbing pain in his chest. Looking down he saw the blunt tip of a Tanto sticking out of his chest chakra still faintly surrounding it. His single eye shifted towards Hyo demanding an explanation even as his strength left him.

"Our mission is to protect Konohagakure from all threats internal or external. You have become one of them. If you were to openly seize the title of Hokage the village would descend into civil war." The masked man drew his own Tanto, "You have taught us well and we will keep your ideals strong." With that said the first Tanto was withdrawn and the elderly man fell forward onto his hands and knees. Then with one stroke it was over.

* * *

An unnatural rain poured down on seven identically dressed figures before it stopped as suddenly as it had started. They stood on a hill overlooking the stronghold of the loyalists. One of the figures spoke, "He is alone." The three simple words belied their complex meaning for they had come to kill a man that was never alone.

"Perhaps he's offering himself as a sacrifice," the lone female of the group offered.

"Hanzou is not the type of man to sacrifice himself. Besides he knows it will do no good." He paused for a minute and then relayed orders. "Naraka and Konan will wait outside, after fifteen minutes proceed inside if we have not killed Hanzou." After delivering his orders he started down the hill followed by the other men.

He was not uneasy. Such emotions were beneath him. Still, there must be some trap. Even if the rain had told Pain that Hanzou was alone he was not a man to be underestimated. His target was a mere man and thus could not kill a god but, he would try.

The large gates that ordinarily protected the citadel had been left wide open as an invitation to enter. There were no guards or traps. Without hesitation they continued into the mazelike structure. The building had been designed to confuse intruders but, they followed a path described to them by a former guard of Hanzou. They had been using the King of Hell on her at the time so she could not have deceived them.

Knowing where the target was they knew they would only be one entrance. Soon only two simple doors stood in their way. Ordinarily he would separate his bodies and have them enter through different locations but, anything that would take down one of these walls was more likely to destroy the entire building. Instead he pushed open the doors to the courtyard.

Hanzou of the Salamander sat on his famous summons surrounded by four large torches. Raindrops landed on the flames causing them to flicker and causing the leader of Amegakure to gain a sinister appearance. "The usurper finally shows his face," he spoke without standing.

Pain gave no reply not surprised at the lack of recognition. He sent two of the bodies to the right and the other two to the left encircling their opponent. The courtyard had few obstacles and was surrounded by a four-story building on all sides with no windows opening onto it. The only crevice for anyone to hide in was a small overhang at the top of the roof but, he sensed no one.

This solitude was unlike the man. However, Hanzou excelled at underwater fighting so it was possible that he intended to flood the area. The shape of the battlefield would make this easy but, it was easily negated by leaving the twin doors open. This was too simple.

When the attack came it was not from the legendary ninja. Two individuals darted down from the overhang in complete silence slicing through two of the bodies. The Preta body was sliced clean through on a horizontal line while Asura was slashed from left shoulder to right hip with a shriek of metal cutting through metal. The impacts were so violent that they formed twin craters. Almost as soon as they landed the attackers were already on to their next targets.

Animal didn't have a chance as he was slashed across his chest. Human managed to block the long Zanbato and was able to engage his attacker in close quarters combat. Deva had raised his hands to perform a Jutsu when a kunai was slipped into his spine severing both a vital nerve and a chakra pathway. Having his throat cut so deep that it scratched his vertebrae was almost superfluous.

As the reanimated corpse fell to the ground a man with lavender hair streaked with gray stepped over it his eyes a crimson color. He watched with detached interest as the final battle played out as predictable as the sun rising. His younger son who had taken out two of his opponents rushed to aid his brother dropping his unwieldy Zanbato and drawing a shorter straight sword called a Daito.

The enemy who had disarmed his older son twisted him around trying to use him as a human shield. With most opponents they would have hesitated even if only for a second but, there was none. His younger son thrust his sword into his brother's stomach to the hilt pinning the two men together. Leapfrogging over the two men he spun and drove a senbon into the base of his opponent's skull. The thin shaft of metal entered where the spinal cord and brain met permanently severing the two and causing instant death.

"Hiroshi, heal your brother." It was an unnecessary order but, the show was meant to impress and hopefully that would draw their host attention to their healing abilities. Approaching Hanzou he stopped twenty paces away as prescribed and spread his hands wide. "He called himself a god?

Hanzou's dark black eyes met his and then shifted away dismissively. "Your stealth abilities are impressive but, if it had been a straight up fight it would've been different."

The Jonin from Iwa graded his teeth at the slight resisting the temptation to remind the man that if it had not been for their warning he would have been ambushed here tonight. "Stealth and deception can bring down an opponent many times one's own strength. That is why we've approach you who is skilled in all of the arts." He had been advised to flatter the man but, it was annoying.

"There are still two more," the leader of Amegakure stated as if that fact could escape anyone.

Almost as if in response the ground shook and Musashi tried not to remember that his youngest child and only daughter was out there. She was not supposed to participate in the fighting but, there was no guarantee of her safety. Particularly considering that there were two Jinchuriki out there. The silent minutes seemed to stretch into what felt like hours.

There was an audible grunt from the passageway and he turned to see Roushi the container for the four tails coming down the hall carrying a body. "I hope you didn't damage the terrain too much," Musashi said in a casual tone as the redheaded Jinchuriki stepped into the courtyard.

"There's a new hill but, that was more for feng shui than a tactical necessity," the bearded man said dropping the body of a female onto the ground next to the Iwa Jonin. "She used paper, I used lava. It was a short battle." Turning as if to leave he whispered almost in audibly, "You're daughter collapsed."

Musashi expression faltered for a second as his paternal instincts temporarily overrode his training before it reasserted itself. With his two sons temporarily incapacitated he was the only person who could deliver any medical aid. He was suddenly very grateful to the two Jinchuriki for coming up with such a plan. "Where is your partner," he shouted trying to sound annoyed as Roushi leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"I am not going to wait around for him."

Turning back to Hanzou the Jonin let some of his concern show hoping it would be interpreted as frustration. "If you excuse me, I'm going to go collect the last body for our gift." He turned without waiting for a response not caring how bad this was making Iwagakure look.

The Tsuchikage had been forced to do this mission in a hurry and without getting the full Advisory Council involved. As a result none of the members of this little group had unquestioning loyalty in Iwagakure. Both of the Jinchuriki had been exiled in reality if not in name and only recently brought into the fold. As for himself he was originally from Kirigakure who had abandoned him.

The only reason he was working for Iwagakure now was simply it was the furthest hidden village away from his previous. In an ideal world he could've abandoned his former life but, without the inherent protection of a village he would always be looking over his shoulder for a Hunter-nin. The only loyalty he had now was to his family and he would not let his youngest die just to cement a treaty.

Rounding the corner he saw his daughter laying on the floor the Five-Tails Jinchuriki kneeling by her side. There were few men that made him uneasy after all he had come from a village where the more ruthless you were the more respect you were given. Cold eyed killers had walked the streets like stray dogs and at one point he had aspired to be like them. If he had seen that in his eyes he would've shrugged it off like dew in the morning but, his were different.

The container for the five tails had eyes like a woman he had once known. Like her a mere glance from him gave him the feeling that you were being vivisected. Any facade before him was pierced like a spotlight into darkness. It was disturbing even if he could read the man almost as easily with his eyes activated. However, what he found even more disturbing was how easily his daughter had struck up a friendship with him on their frantic trip to get here.

Still, even without activating his eyes Musashi could see that he was generally concerned for her. Kneeling on her other side he felt for a pulse and was relieved to find it strong and steady. Her eyes fluttered open and she tried to smile but, was too weak. "How do you feel," he asked trying not to sound concerned.

"Exhausted, it was so hard to hide both of them for so long."

"I think you just over did it again. Have you taken a soldier pill yet?"

She nodded closing her eyes again. "Just before you came."

"All right, you'll be okay."

The tall man's eyes met his and without saying a word he rose towering over the two of them and picked up the last body that he had not noticed in his rush to check his daughter. Before they left he took one last glance at his youngest. Her lavender hair was streaked with black from her mother and she seemed smaller than usual. She was fourteen but, looked twelve and right now in his eyes she looked even younger and more vulnerable.

The two men walked slowly back to the courtyard where the body was dumped next to the other. Musashi spread his arms in a grand almost mocking gesture. "We have brought you the leaders of the rebels and laid their corpses at your feet. Will the great Amekage join us?" The unofficial title seemed to amuse Hanzou which was also the first emotion he had been able to read off of him so far.

"For now, I will agree to aid you."

* * *

Nagato slumped in his chair as the extent of his defeat sunk in. A mocking voice came from behind him, "Ahh they'd beat you ugly, didn't they?"

"A setback nothing more," Nagato wheezed.

"You just lost your ability to use the Six Paths of Pain and your most loyal follower. This is just a setback to you?" The voice had dropped the persona of Tobi and his true identity of Madara Uchiha had emerged.

"I will recover. This is just another source of pain."

Madara stepped into the periphery of the other man's line of sight. "No, you won't." He waited for the words to sink in before removing his mask. "Have you figured it out?"

"You warned them I was coming?"

"Don't act surprised. You intended to betray me when the time came. Our alliance only existed because it was beneficial for both of us at the time. The only thing is the situation changed and you didn't realize it."

The mechanical chair turned slowly to face the older man, "And what has changed?"

Flipping his mask over as if he was examining it he answered without looking up, "Three years ago everything looked peaceful but now well war is coming. This means several things. However, the only thing I care about is the Jinchuriki. As they become more important to their villages again we won't be able to grab them without impunity."

"You want to grab them when they're on missions."

"More or less but, the real trick will be making the situation bad enough so the villages will use their trump cards. That won't be easy," without warning Nagato attacked firing one of his Chakra Disruption Blades. Madara moved out of its way with minimum effort, "You were supposed to let me finish." With that said black flames engulfed the chair and occupant in an inferno.

He turned to walk away when he realized he wouldn't be alone for long. A moment later he spoke into the empty air, "Zetsu report."

The half man half plant emerged from the ground in front of him and without preamble said, "Orochimaru is dead."

Placing his mask back on the oldest Uchiha asked, "Who had the privilege?"

"Multiple people but, the final blow was delivered by his former student. Konohagakure has already withdrawn most of its forces from the area leaving only a small contingent to aid in the rebuilding of Otogakure."

The older man had to smile at that, enjoying how some things never seem to change. "I take it that the Nine-Tailed wasn't captured."

"The battle was theirs but, they were tricked into withdrawing." His other personality spoke up for the first time, "If they were tricked then they lost the battle."

Seeking to head off an argument Madara interrupted with one word, "Itachi?"

His spy hesitated for a second before answering, "We believe his mental condition continues to deteriorate faster than his body. He has lost any protective interest in his brother."

The 'we' in that statement was significant Madara told himself. To have both sides of Zetsu's personality agree on such a fine point was unusual and he had known him long enough to put more than the usual amount of stock in his opinion. "That is good. He might prove to be useful yet."

"What are we going to do for a proxy leader?"

"For now I will assume his appearance during meetings and slowly over time reveal myself to the group." He would've preferred to keep at least one layer of separation between himself and the organization of Akatsuki but, some things couldn't be helped.

"What a waste," Zetsu said looking at the still burning corpse.

Madara knew that his companion was not referring to Nagato and the potential he had wasted. He did however choose to take a moment to mourn the loss himself feeling no real animosity towards him. The man could have achieved so much, if only he was able to get over himself. Instead he had chose to be an idealist and like all idealists he left in his wake bodies stacked ten high.

Peace through war was not exactly a novel concept and if he ever bothered to study history he would've seen the inherent flaw in that idea. No, he took that back. He had been too blinded by his own past to ever see beyond it. That ability was something that could only come with time and despite his claim to godhood he had been young. Responding to Zetsu's last comment he answered, "You'll have your fill soon enough."


	22. Moving On

Ino paused outside of Sasuke's hospital room. It was around one in the morning and by all rights he should be asleep but, she was pretty sure that given the events that caused his hospitalization he wouldn't be sleeping unless they had given him something. So, now that she had already slipped past the nurses why was she hesitating? Because he had seen his brother again and even she knew that was going to be a sore spot.

She wished she had been with him or at least known sooner. Her team had crossed the river several hours later and a few miles upstream. So, it had come to her as a complete shock to learn about the unexpected fight. It had probably been better for her team though. If she had known there would have been no breaks for rest.

Deciding not to knock on the off chance that he was sleeping, she gently pushed open the door and popped her head in. The room was semi private with only two beds but, one was empty. Sasuke was in the other and he didn't seem overly happy to see her. "Hey, how is everything?" As soon as she had asked the question she wished she could take it back. He had broken ribs there was no way to be comfortable with them.

"Are you referring to Kado getting mixed up in some assassination attempt or, the fact that he ran into Itachi while I was gone?"

The blond resisted the urge to rub her temples. Briefly she wondered why he had referred to Kado. Was it because he was referring to his accomplishments over his own or was he feeling guilty about not being here to protect him. "Actually, I was referring to your ride on a giant toed."

"Very bumpy," he supplied with a straight face.

She smiled politely and leaned against the bed railing careful not to actually touch the mattress. "So, how long until we can train again? I'm already missing my sparring partner," she shifted her shoulder blade which emphasized the sword she still carried.

"Two days worth of treatments and then I'm out of here. A week before light training and then another before I can go back to my usual routine."

She nodded and made a calculation in her head. "Are we going to talk about the sumo wrestler in the room or just keep ignoring him?" His response to the question was to turn away as if she wasn't there. "Come on, I thought that aloof attitude was cool when I was twelve but now," she moved so that she was in his line of sight again, "it's just annoying."

"Go away. There is nothing to discuss," he spat out the last word.

Ino stared at him and he stared back, she could see he was holding himself back from exploding at her. Taking a step back she leaned against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. Obviously he needed to talk and just as obvious it wasn't going to be easy. She could just step back and ignore it but, that would be like leaving a thorn under your skin, it would just fester.

So, how could she get around to it without mentioning _his_ name? "Kado did do pretty good breaking up the assassination. If I had been there at his age I would've just frozen. I guess that comes from being an Uchiha."

Sasuke slammed his head into the pillow, "Don't do that."

"Do what," she question innocently.

"Your mind games," he opened his eyes and scoffed at her look of innocence. "You flatter, than reference Kado's latter achievement knowing that surviving an encounter with Itachi is the greater of the two accomplishments. So, you overtly refer to the one incident while you're really want to talk about the other one since that will bring up Itachi. He is what you really want to talk about."

The teen winced as he pointed at her irritating one of his injuries. "However," he started again more calmly, "what you don't realize is his survival was a fluke. If his team had not been with him the outcome would have been different."

Ino raised a single blond eyebrow, "So, one genin wouldn't have survived against an S-class missing ninja but, three of them and it's no big deal?"

"He's not what he was."

Five simple words and Ino thought she understood. His brother was how old, she wasn't sure but, he had to be younger than twenty-five. The older brother should still be in his prime unless, "You mean mentally?"

The teen nodded slightly but perceptively, "It's subtle. I didn't even recognize it at first."

"Sasuke," Ino spoke softly not sure how she should proceed, "Itachi probably hasn't been sane for a long time."

The current head of the Uchiha clan slammed his hand into the mattress and turned a frightening gaze on her. Either on purpose or by accident he had activated his Sharingan. She had been under that gaze numerous times now but, there was something more malevolent about it this time. It almost felt like staring into the eyes of a demon, "He does not get off that easily. He does not get to hide behind insanity. He knew what he was doing and he will know why I'm going to kill him."

Ino worked her mouth which was suddenly dry, "Well, that should be simple enough. He is a missing-nin after all. You're a Chunin now and with no major problems on the horizon no one should complain if you want to hunt down one of the worst criminals in the village's history. I'll even volunteer to be a scout for you," Ino kept her voice calm in a stark contrast to Sasuke.

The red literally drained from the avenger's eyes and then he closed them. When he opened them again they were their normal color, "Sorry."

"Pardon," the blonde said surprised, "did you just apologize?" He rolled his eyes as she stepped closer, "You did."

His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist pulling her close, "Don't push it," and then he did something she was not expecting. He kissed her.

* * *

"Ramen is the best in the morning," Naruto said rubbing his hands together as a bowl was placed in front of him.

"You enjoy it anytime," Konohamaru replied blowing on his own bowl.

The blond laughed and stirred his bowl not wanting to ruin the moment yet. He wasn't sure how his friend would take the news that he would be leaving on yet another trip. True the kid was older now but, still he seemed to enjoy his company and he liked the little pest too. The blonde did intend to tell him about the third stage of the Rasengan before he left so at least he could work on it.

They continued eating for a few minutes until the younger of the two lifted his bowl and slurped the rest of the broth down. Without turning he said, "You're leaving again." It was not a question just a statement of fact.

Naruto bit off the mouth full of noodles that he had been slurping up and looked over at his younger friend, "How did you know?"

The former honorable grandson shrugged, "The only time I finish eating before you do is when you tell me you're leaving again."

For a second the older Genin wondered if he had such a pattern why he hadn't ever noticed it. "That's observant."

"I'm not an idiot," Konohamaru said annoyed, "How long this time?"

"Four months. It's like a long mission," he added to try and lighten the mood. After all it was a lot shorter than the thirty months it was originally going to be.

"Naruto," Konohamaru started but looked up at the proprietors and changed his mind about what he was about to say. "I'll miss you."

"You'll be busy training and since I'm going to teach you the third stage of the Rasengan. I expect you to have it master by the time I get back." Jiraiya probably wouldn't be too happy if he found out that he had taught someone the third stage before they mastered the second but, the circumstances were special.

The promise of training did seem to lift the others mood. "I have to meet my team in a little."

"Yeah, that's okay," Naruto interrupted. "I'll be sticking around for a few more days."

"Good but, could you walk me to my team's meeting spot?"

It was an odd request but, in an unusual moment of clarity the blonde remembered the glance his friend had given Ayame and Teuchi. There was very little that couldn't be discussed with them in earshot. In fact there was only one thing Naruto could think of and that was a four-legged nine tailed fox. "Sure, just give me a second," he finished his bowl slightly worried.

The two left Ichiraku in silence. Naruto let his younger friend take the lead since he had no idea where they were going. They walked for a few minutes when Konohamaru stopped and turned to face him, "Hey, Naruto these long training trips you go on do they have anything to do with the Fox," Konohamaru had hesitated on the last word as if he had been unsure how to refer to it.

Unconsciously, the older of the two placed his hands on his stomach before realizing it and letting them drop back to his sides. He wasn't sure how he could describe the situation but, he wouldn't lie to his protege. "Sort of but, I really don't like using its chakra. If I use too much I can't control it, sort of like before." He referenced the incident from before when one of the clones seem to have gone demonic on him and almost attacked Konohamaru.

"Mostly it's because of this group called the Akatsuki though." Naruto told him everything or a least as much as he knew. It wasn't until he had to actually brief another person that he realized he knew very little about the group that wanted him dead. Well, technically they had nothing against him but, his death would just be a side effect.

The younger Genin took everything in without saying a word. After a long minute Konohamaru looked up, "Wouldn't it be safer for you to train within the village?"

"I used to think that way too but, since we're just wandering around out there it's harder for them to pinpoint me. Besides, Jiraiya always has to do his research," he said the last part with a smile but, his friend didn't know the other man's reputation.

"I guess that makes sense."

Naruto noticed that Konohamaru seemed a little disappointed. He thought about it for a few seconds and suddenly had an epiphany. Konohamaru hadn't been asking about the Fox or at least not really. He wanted to know why he had to leave. Without warning he reached out and ruffled the boy's hair which he received a glare for, "When I get back we should spar."

"If you wait too long I will mop the floor with you," Konohamaru said his familiar smile spreading across his face.

Naruto laughed, "It will be a hundred years before you can beat me."

"Hey, I helped take down the second-in-command of Sound."

"Yeah so what, I helped take down the leader."

"I'm younger my accomplishment is more impressive."

"There were six of you there were only three of us." They continued to argue until Konohamaru was officially late for the meeting with his team.

* * *

Naruto closed his apartment door and did one last mental checklist. He had emptied his refrigerator, taken out the garbage, arranged for his plants to be watered and left his wallet in the apartment with most of his Ryo. That last one was a caution against Jiraiya and his sticky fingers, one day he would make him repay everything he had _borrowed_. With his checklist complete he locked the door and pocketed the key.

Hopefully he had four whole months of hard training in front of him and the blonde couldn't be happier. He probably had an extra bounce in his step as he bounded down the stairs. As the blonde reached the bottom of the stairs he came up short when he saw Sakura there. She was leaning against the building directly opposite of his apartment building and gave him a casual wave as he came to a stop.

Waving back the orange clad Genin wondered why she was here. He had said his goodbyes to most of his friends after the funeral for Lee yesterday. Worried that something might be wrong he crossed the street to meet her. "Hey, Sakura is something wrong?"

Sakura smiled. "No, I just thought I'd see you off to the gate at least."

"Oh, okay." He was surprised but, in a pleasant way. Naruto deliberately slowed his pace to make these few minutes last. Casting his mind around for something to talk about he could only think of one thing, "Have you and granny Tsunade made up yet?"

She chuckled, "We're not fighting. She's just disappointed in me. I understand why and I was expecting it."

"So, if you knew she was going to be angry, why did you destroy all those files?"

His pink hair companion didn't say anything at first and when she did answer it was just one word, "Ranmaru."

"Ranmaru," Naruto echoed. "Why would he have anything to do with this?"

"Well, at first I didn't really know why. After all it was just information and normally the more you have the better but, they were keeping a person like a lab rat. At some level I saw Ranmaru in that situation." She held up her hand, "I know it's different. When I run tests on Ranmaru it is to make sure he's okay but, sometimes I wonder."

"So," Naruto asked honestly not seeing the problem.

His teammate pushed some nonexistent hair out of her eyes, "I don't know. Some of the files I saw were horrible. They took people to experiment on and they used people to experiment. I cut my own hands off before I would hurt Ranmaru but, how far is it from wanting to just know something and doing anything to learn it. Pursuing knowledge for knowledge alone isn't good enough. There are things that shouldn't be done and they are things that shouldn't be learned from."

They had both stopped walking at some point and Naruto could see that she was on the verge of tears. He hugged her which would normally result in him being slapped upside the head at the least. This time she just leaned into him. "You're not like them. Orochimaru wanted to know everything for the same reason he wanted power, because he could.

Naruto took a deep breath and confessed, "I think I used to be that way too. I wanted everyone to know that I was great." She tensed and he quickly finished. "That was dumb. Now I train because I want to protect the people that are precious to me. I will always train because I don't want to let anyone down. You're like that too. You don't do anything just because but, because you don't know what you might need to know. What you said was true for both of us. We would cut off our own hands before hurting someone who was important to us."

Sakura didn't immediately pull away. When she did her eyes were dry but, his shoulder was wet. She tugged on his arm to get him moving again. After a moment of silence she changed the subject to something more mundane. They continued talking of inconsequential things until they reached the gate where Jiraiya was waiting for him.

The legendary ninja called out, "You're late."

He was about to break away from his teammate to join him when she grabbed his arm and said, "Thanks. For earlier, I just needed to talk."

Naruto scratched the back of his head in a nervous gesture he almost never did any more. "Don't mention it."

As the blonde was about to leave her side she grabbed his arm and turned him around. Before he could say anything she pulled him close and pecked him on the cheek. "When you get back I'll treat you to a bowl of ramen."

Naruto felt his cheeks reddened and by the time he regained the power of speech she had already turned around and was walking away. "Like a date," He called out to her retreating back.

The teenage girl's shoulders slumped and she turned around holding a hand up with two fingers separated by an inch, "We were that close to having a story book goodbye."

* * *

Author's note: One more chapter.


	23. Leaders

Tsunade usually hated meeting with the Advisory Council. There was an annoying sameness to the meetings. Homura and Koharu would pick apart her decisions and then complain about how slow reports reach them. Today though she was nervous, with a little luck this might be the last meeting she had with the both of them.

Strolling into the room on time for a change was their first warning that something wasn't right. Ordinarily she had them wait if only a few minutes. It was a power game. Without saying a word she could remind them that she was their superior. It was childish and she knew that but, all power games were childish.

Smiling which was another sign of danger for them she began, "Thank you for attending this sudden meeting. As you know four days ago there was an assassination attempt on my life. One of the assassins was a Hyuga but, we can now say he was not acting under orders from his clan. The other assassin who was captured killed himself shortly after but, not before positively identifying Danzou as the man who hired him." The Hokage did not believe that the man had killed himself but, she couldn't prove that.

"Should we truly believe the words of a dead man? He could just be trying to turn us on each other," Koharu commented.

"Danzou actions have condemned him, besides his body has been found." At that moment she truly wished she had Ibiki's ability to read others. The man could tell simply by a small subconscious tick if someone was nervous or lying. It was truly a remarkable ability. After all she had no solid proof that these two had known the details of how she would be removed but, that was just willful ignorance.

After a few seconds of silence she started her main attack, "Danzou clearly had no intention of seizing power by force. If he had he would have been here when he tried to have me killed. His intentions were to be appointed as my successor." She allowed the accusation to remain unsaid for now.

The Hokage monument showed more expression then the two elders sitting across from her. Eventually Homura broke the silence. "If that is true, he would have to be approved by us and that would never happen."

It would've been nice if they had immediately pleaded their innocence but, that would've been too much to hope for. She did her best to match their expressions, "I have information that says otherwise." She was being deliberately cryptic. It was officially known only to a very few people that Danzou's head had not been found with his body. If it had she could've learned just about anything that he had known. Root might have informed them that they had destroyed the head but, whoever was controlling the organization now probably preferred to lay low.

"Let us see this information," Koharu snapped like an old guard dog.

She calmly leaned forward and lowered her voice as if she was imparting a secret, "That might not be the best thing to do. If I were to give the two of you the information, it would also be given to others and then I would have to act upon it. This will cause needless strife."

The two could easily read between the lines. I know you two have committed treason but, I don't want a public spectacle. "What are you suggesting," Homura ventured.

Tsunade relaxed inperspectively. Of the two she had been able tolerate him over the other, "You're in your seventies, no one will think it's odd that you retired. Obviously not simultaneously, Koharu could announce it this week and you could follow in several months. I'll even allow you to appoint your successors pending my approval of course. Go home. Spoil you're grand children rotten."

Homura was obviously beaten but, Koharu seem to be having an internal struggle. If she pushed to see the evidence her plan to get rid of them would be in jeopardy. It was tentative at best but, fortunately she was saved by an unexpected ally.

"Koharu, like you I have always acted in the best interest of this village first and my own second. I've done many terrible things but, I can live with them. Don't make me make another one of those decisions."

The older woman slammed her hand on the table and spat out, "Fine. You'll have my resignation by tomorrow." She rose and headed for the door with all the grace of a princess. At the door she paused for a second and gave one last piece of advice in her official role. "Iwagakure has long sought our village's destruction. They also rarely pass up an opportunity." The Hokage nodded in a silent sign of acknowledgment.

* * *

When Yurasu the personal assistant to the Raikage returned to Kumogakure from his brief mission as a liaison, he immediately reported to his village's leader despite the late hour. He was one of a few that had such a privilege. The Raikage was a recluse, meeting with few individuals that passed his orders onto others.

Most of the villagers believe this was because he had seized power in a coup and was afraid of being assassinated himself. If the man did suffer from such fear it would be mostly groundless. He had removed a mostly unpopular leader and while he was not in the same league as the founder of the village he was competent. Except for a few diehards from the old days he was unlikely to be assassinated.

The real reason for his self-imposed exile was a little more complicated. Again he was one of the few that knew the truth and that was only because he had been there. During the violent regime change the current Raikage had been severely wounded by his predecessor. Out of all the other individuals that had participated in the coup he had been chosen because of that wound. A physically weak individual who seize power through violence was palatable to those in the know.

Knocking on the door, he did not wait for permission to enter. The Raikage was standing in front of a map of the continent. He turned slightly to greet him with, "Success?"

"Mission accomplished. Casualties on the low side of expected. Otogakure's leadership has changed and they will not be building any more secret bases. Our access to the continent will remain secure."

The older man turned his attention back to the map and said almost to himself, "Not destroyed. Konoha never changes."

Yurasu eyed his friend and leader. He had not been gone long but, the man seemed to be sicker than before. His eyes seem sunken into his face and his cheekbones shut out like rocky outcroppings. The cane he had so disdained a few months ago was now a permanent fixture to his side. Logically he knew that his health hadn't deteriorated that much but, when peace rested with one man everything was concerning.

"This changes things. I assume they're helping them rebuild," the Raikage addressed him without looking away from the map.

"Yes, they're also trying to convince the non-aligned clans in the area to join with the new village."

"They'll reduce residual anger but, still it's not ideal. You were originally from Iwa what do you think we should do."

Yurasu ran his fingers through his hair. They have had this conversation before. It was taken as an article of faith that Rock would attack Leaf and could quite possibly destroy the village. This would not be good for his adopted village. It was not out of any altruism, they just simply wanted to maintain the balance of power on the continent. "Go along with their plan and then betray them."

"We've done that too many times in our history. Everybody knows to suspect us now." The older man smiled weakly, "That would be too easy." Raising a hand he said, "Waterfall, Grass and Rain. Traditionally they are buffer states for the Leaf Village against Iwa. Now if Iwa can convince Sound to look the other way they could land forces by the sea. Five or six medium-size ships would be all it would take. They could strike south from there. Four possible invasion routes but, which will they take?"

"Perhaps we should switch our alliance now to dissuade any expansionist ideas."

The older man turned around and retreated to his desk. "If we do it too soon they may feel like they've been backed into a corner and attack anyway."

"Wouldn't it be better to have them attack while they're unprepared?"

"That only works if you're prepared and right now nobody is," The Raikage grunted as he collapsed into his chair. "I'm not so foolish to believe we will have peace in our time or anything like that. Really peace is just the interlude between wars. In the end all I want to do is make sure this village is safe."

"That won't be easy."

"I know."

* * *

Authors note: And that's the end of Shadow Alliance. It should be pretty obvious but, the sequel is coming and it will be an all out war in the Fourth Great Shinobi War (a title that oddly has not been used yet) I'll be starting that story soon enough but, first I shall take a small break from the series and write a quick detective story involving Shikamaru tracking down a firebug.


End file.
